Naruto: White Ops: Beginning of the End
by princechaz2011
Summary: Having defeated Madara and Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto now must lead a new team of Anbu against the enemies of the Leaf, who wish to see it destroyed. Naruto & Sakura, subject to change.
1. Prologue

_I do not own Naruto!_

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

_Flashback…_

"_Sasukkkkkeeee!"_

"_Narutoooooooo!"_

_The Rasengan and Chidori clashed in brilliant burst of light and energy. When the smoke cleared, Naruto stood over the unconscious Sasuke. They had fought here in the Valley of the End, just like before, only now, Sasuke was the one at Naruto's feet. Naruto stared down at him with his Sage/fox eyes. He had never meant for it to come to this. Would Sasuke ever see the light?_

"_Sasuke, do you see now? Do you see the truth? The time has come. You will return to the Leaf."_

"_Naruto," Sasuke coughed. "You fool. You really think that the Leaf will welcome me back?"_

"_I'll make them," replied Naruto._

"_Naruto, I will never return!"_

_With that, Sasuke leapt from the ground and pulled a kunai, stabbing at Naruto. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and threw him into the cliff. A single tear fell from his face. He had tried, but he had failed. _

_Naruto walked over to Sasuke, and realized that it really was over. Sasuke told Naruto one last thing before he passed._

"_Naruto, I'm sorry…."_

_End Flashback_

Three years later, Naruto, now twenty years old, stepped out on the balcony of the Hokage's mansion. After all that had happened, he had finally been promoted. He had become chunin, then jonin, then ANBU. To his surprise, after becoming ANBU, Tsunade had decided to form a new team of ANBU, the White Ops. This was an elite team of ninja who had surpassed every other in the village. They were dedicated to the protection of the Hokage. Naruto was the first of these, and was now the captain. Next was Kakashi, who had also been promoted. The remaining members were Rock Lee, Yamato, Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru, and Shino. These teams had been separated further into two man cells. These four cells were Naruto and Shikamaru, Kakashi and Sakura, Neji and Lee, and Yamato and Shino. These four teams were renowned for their abilities.

Though each team had the same basic assignment of guarding the Hokage, they also took other missions, such as tracking down S-rank criminals or eliminating those seen as threats. Being a White Op had its perks, though. Naruto was regarded by many as being the strongest ninja in the village, and he was considered to be on the fast track to becoming Tsunade's successor.

A slight breeze blew over the village, which felt good on Naruto's exposed arms. He wore a black muscle shirt and orange and black pants. A worn katana, his favorite weapon since he became an ANBU, was strapped to his back. His black tool pouch hung around his left leg. Soon he would put on his armor, and then his white long coat, the sign of a White Op.


	2. Chapter 1: A New Mission

I don't own Naruto, nor would you want me to. I am simply one who's imagination has been starved, so I write to let it run wild. Let me know if you like it.

**Chapter 1: A New Mission!**

"What a drag!"

"Shikamaru Nara," said Hozura to the white-clad shinobi before him, "once again your lazy partner has not shown up for a meeting. Do you have some kind of explanation?"

"No, I don't."

"Then the Hokage will hear about this. I'm sure that your partner will be stripped of his rank—."

"I would shut up, Hozura. The only reason you're here is because I allowed it," said Tsunade as she walked in. Ever since Danzo died, you've been trying to get Naruto kicked out, and I won't allow it. I would let the White Ops kill you before that. In case you haven't noticed, everyone here is a dear friend of Naruto. What will you do?"

Hozura glared at Tsunade and shut up. As he did so, Naruto walked in.

"Sorry I'm late. I was reminiscing."

"Naruto, you're way too much like Kakashi," said Tsunade with a sigh.

"Is that such a bad thing?" asked Kakashi, his mask concealing a very large grin.

"It is when we have an important mission for him," replied Tsunade.

"Like what?" asked Naruto.

"One of Sasuke's old team members has been located. It's Karin. I want Naruto to track her down. Shikamaru, go with him. I want word from you two as soon as you make contact. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Naruto and Shikamaru responded in unison. The Hokage handed them a single scroll and dismissed them. Naruto and Shikamaru headed out to the roof and began to study the scroll Tsunade had given them.

"According to this, it's just Karin. You could handle her by yourself, Naruto, not to mention the fact that she's only in the Land of Waves. I don't know why I have to tag along. This is such a drag!"

"Aww! Come on, Shikamaru. Can't you just enjoy a mission?"

"No, because missions are work, and only idiots like you enjoy work."

Naruto only smiled at Shikamaru's sarcasm. Over the past year, he and Shikamaru had grown particularly close as friends. Working together in many life or death situations had produced a bond that was not unlike the bond that was originally shared between Naruto and Sasuke. Although Naruto had originally argued that Sakura would have been the best partner for him, Tsunade had immediately shot that idea down. As good a team as the two made, she could not have a romantically involved couple go on a mission together. If something happened to Sakura, Naruto could not guarantee that the Nine-Tailed Fox would not try to get free. Even though Naruto had been more successful than any other in controlling the fox, they could not afford giving it an inch of freedom.

They traveled east for the next few days, stopping in towns to try ramen and rest for the night. Though they were not the tracking experts of the Leaf, Naruto could always use the tracker toad he had trained, with Kiba's help.

Finally, they arrived in the town that Karin had been spotted in. It was a small town, nothing more than a fishing town. Naruto and Shikamaru traveled through the town wearing normal clothes instead of their ANBU cloaks. They walked through the busy streets. At the end of the street was a small inn. They stopped here to ask about Karin. After describing her to the man, they learned that she had come and stayed here two nights ago, and was heading east. The innkeeper believed she planned to get a boat to the Eastern Continent, but couldn't be sure.

Naruto and Shikamaru continued to follow her through the Land of Waves. It took them a week, but they finally tracked her down. They immediately sent word to Tsunade that they were about to make contact. She had stopped in a small clearing in the swampy forest. Shikamaru motioned for Naruto to look to the left. Naruto looked to see a small child, no more than three years old, with black hair playing in the clearing. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. Surely this wasn't Sasuke's kid. Naruto released the jutsu he and Shikamaru had been using to hide from Karin's sensor jutsu, and stepped into the clearing. Karin instantly panicked, jumped to her child, and drew a kunai.

"It's okay, Karin. It's just me, Naruto."

"Naruto? What are you doing here? Have you come to kill me, just as you did to Jugo and Suigetsu?"

"I didn't do that!" said Naruto.

"Then who did?"

"Suigetsu got himself killed by Kisame Hoshigake, and Jugo decided to attack the Stone Village. Onoki didn't take kindly to that."

"You still killed my Sasuke! I can't forgive you for that!" she screamed, drawing the child close.

"Who's the kid, lady," said Shikamaru, emerging from the cover of the trees.

"He's my and Sasuke's baby!"

Naruto and Shikamaru looked at each other, startled.

"Sasuke had a son? With you?" said Shikamaru, unable to contain the surprise.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he did."

"This is crazy!" said Shikamaru.

"The boy…,"said Naruto, "he's Sasuke's son? That can't be! Sasuke never mentioned it!"

"Why would he? You Leaf village ninja would have just tracked down the last of the Uchiha and kill it in order to rid yourselves of all ties to them. Not to mention, you never gave him the chance."

Naruto stared at his feet. Shikamaru knew his fight with Sasuke had been a touchy subject. He had only told Tsunade, Kakashi, and Sakura exactly what had happened in the Valley of the End. The news had left Tsunade and Kakashi silent, and Sakura was in tears. All Shikamaru knew was what the investigation of the Valley of the End had revealed: there had been a huge fight. Many of the kages agreed that the power of the two combatants had never been seen. It surpassed the known power of the kages. The fight must have been spectacular.

"Where are you going?" asked Shikamaru.

"I'm taking Itachi across the ocean, to a place where his power will be appreciated."

"Itachi?" asked Naruto.

"It's what Sasuke wanted."

"Listen, lady, I don't care what your plans are. I have orders to take you back to the village for questioning," said Shikamaru.

"No!" screamed Karin, who was on the verge of tears. "If I go there, they'll take my baby! I cannot allow that."

Karin made a feeble attempt at a genjutsu that Naruto and Shikamaru brushed aside with ease. She was too tired to remain conscious. She fell to the ground.

"What a drag!" said Shikamaru, "now I have to carry her. Naruto, you get the kid."

Naruto nodded and picked up the small boy. He expected Itachi to cry or scream, but he only watched silently as this unfamiliar man scooped him up and carried him away.

Later that night, Karin awoke. She struggled to get up, but realized that something was holding her down. She continued to struggle, until Shikamaru's voice rang out across the night.

"I wouldn't try too hard if I were you."

"What have you done to me? And where's my baby?"

"It's a jutsu of Naruto's invention. He calls it Gravity Bond Jutsu. He placed a seal on your wrists and ankles that manipulates gravity and causes them to be firmly anchored to the ground. As for your son, he's sleeping peacefully in the tent."

Karin looked down at her wrists and noticed the seals. She examined them closely, realizing that they were high quality seals, something that most ANBU could not have possibly mastered. Then she looked over to the tent. There was a small light inside, probably a candle. She also saw a large shadow inside, probably Naruto, she guessed.

"Don't worry about Itachi. Naruto's making sure to take care of him."

"What's going to happen to us?"

"After we get back to the village, it's in Lady Fifth's hands. You're a wanted criminal. You'll probably be placed in prison."

"But Itachi needs me!"

"He'll be placed in an orphanage. You'll find that your options are limited."

"What's the best possible outcome?"

"I'm not sure, nor do I care. I suppose the best thing that could happen is that someone of very high position in the village would speak for you, and you would be placed under house arrest in the village, with frequent ANBU checkups. As for the boy, you might be allowed to keep him, but that would be up to the Hokage."

"If I am placed in prison, and Itachi goes to the orphanage, would there be a chance for adoption?"

"Personally, I doubt it. Naruto grew up in the orphanage under the Third Hokage, and even though he's the Fourth's son, he was never adopted."

"I see…."

"You should get some rest," said Shikamaru. "You'll want to be ready for tomorrow. Naruto plans to use one of his new jutsu to get us back to the village. The last time he did that, I puked my guts out."

Karin awoke the next morning to see Itachi grinning down at her.

"Itachi, my boy!" she cried and hugged the boy.

"I thought you might want to hug him," said Naruto.

Karin looked at the tall blonde. Maybe he wasn't all that bad. Sasuke always spoke of him with the greatest respect, even before their final fight.

_Flashback…_

_"Karin, you don't understand. Naruto will keep chasing me until he finds me, and then we will fight. I can't avoid that. It's what I want."_

_ "But Sasuke, what about us, what about the baby?"_

_ "The baby will be okay. I have to fight Naruto. He's my rival. It won't matter how strong I am if I can't beat him. He's the only one in the world that can beat me. He beat Pain and Madara, and now he wants to face me."_

_ "Beating Madara was just a fluke. The Ten-Tails was too strong for Madara to control, and who would have thought that he could possibly invent that seal."_

_ "His father was the Fourth Hokage. Naruto should have picked up something somewhere. That seal was ingenious. He managed to create a seal that locked away the Ten-Tails inside of Madara, and when Madara tried to use its power, the seal turned the power back inward, causing Madara to implode."_

_ Karin kissed Sasuke softly. "Please don't leave me."_

_ "I'm sorry, Karin," said Sasuke as he closed the door._

_End Flashback_

Naruto smiled down at Karin, waiting to see if she would escape. He had temporarily loosened the Gravity Bonds and was hoping she wouldn't try to escape.

"Alright, everyone ready to go?" asked Naruto.

"I'm good whenever," said Shikamaru.

"Good. Let's get going then," said Naruto as he began to perform hand signs in rapid succession. Shikamaru and Karin watched in wonder as light began to bend around them, blurring the forest that had surrounded them. Suddenly, they felt a jolt as if they were moving, and finally, an abrupt stop.

"That was weird," said Shikamaru, trying to keep his balance.

"At least it worked," said Naruto, taking note of the familiar forest not far from the Hidden Leaf.

"Yeah. Now let's get going."

They walked the rest of the way to the Hidden Leaf. They soon arrived. As they walked through the gate and down the main street, they received many strange looks from the villagers, but many of them went back to their own business. They knew better than to mess with the White Ops.

They met Ibiki and Tsunade at the Hokage's mansion. Ibiki took Karin into custody, while Naruto, Tsunade, Shikamaru, and Itachi went up to Tsunade's office.

"So this is Sasuke's son?" asked Tsunade.

"Yep. I couldn't believe it myself, Granny. He has Sasuke's hair, and I can feel the Sharingan in him. He hasn't awakened it yet, but he will one day."

Tsunade frowned at "Granny," but continued anyway. "I see. I'm at a loss for what to do with him."

Shikamaru and Naruto only nodded. They both knew that if the other villages knew, they would order Itachi killed.

"I suppose he'll be sent to the orphanage. There's honestly nothing else I can do."

Suddenly, a chunin burst into the room. "Lady Tsunade, I have something to report. The prisoner Karin has been taken to the hospital. She was bleeding pretty bad."

"What? Why? What's going on?"

"I'm not sure. It doesn't make since. She was fine until Ibiki-sensei started the interrogation. He asked her one question and she went into a coughing fit."

"Naruto, go check it out!"

Naruto hurriedly followed the chunin out the door and to the hospital. When he arrived, Sakura was looking Karin over.

"Sakura, what's going on?"

"It looks like her jutsu finally caught up with her."

"What?"

"She has a very old healing jutsu. By having someone bite her, she can take on the injuries of that person. She used it too much. The jutsu has severe consequences. It appears to be killing her."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Naruto. He knew Sakura had long ago surpassed Tsunade as a medic and if anyone could save Karin, it was her.

Sakura just shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

A pained look crossed Naruto's features. He immediately left the room to report to Tsunade.

"Well, that's just great," said Tsunade after hearing the news. "I guess the boy will go to the orphanage after all."

"Granny, I've been wondering, what if I adopt him?"

"Naruto, that's a lot of responsibility. I'm not sure you could handle it."

"Sakura could help me. I don't want this boy growing up without parents. If he does, it may result in him going crazy like his father."

"I agree. You can adopt him, but it will be a couple of weeks. Take that time to decide if you're really ready for the responsibility."

"Fine. I'll go through the procedures. By the way, if you need me, I'll be at the valley."

"Very well, but hurry back. You're on village patrol duty starting at two."

"I'll be there." With that, Naruto left the room and teleported himself to the Valley of the End.


	3. Chapter 2: Naruto's Apprentice

Alright, here's the second chapter. I'm glad the first went over well. Hope you like this one too! Please review.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Naruto's Apprentice<strong>

"There you are, Naruto."

"Neji, what's up?"

"Just thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing. I'll be leaving on a mission tomorrow."

"Where are you off to?"

"Lee and I have been ordered to track down a rogue ninja from the Snow Village."

"The Snow Village, really?"

"Yes."

"That's a long way away."

"I know. I hope to be back within the month, however."

"I hope so. It won't be the same, having to protect a village without you guys. It seems like everyone has missions these days. Shikamaru told me that he'll be leaving to speak with Gaara and Temari about some proposed ambassador ninja idea. It sounds good, but it's going to leave me guarding Granny alone. Especially when you think about the fact that Kakashi and Shino have agreed to team up for a mission to the Cloud Village."

"It's odd that there will only be three White Ops in the village. Are you and your fiancé planning to test the four new applicants?"

"If we have time. Sakura running the medical division has made it a bit tougher to schedule these things, and the same goes for Yamato with Root. Granny will have to make time to oversee, too."

"Well, try not to be too hard on Kiba, Choji, and Sai. They do deserve to be part of the White Ops."

"I agree. They should have been admitted last time, but they were out on missions when Tsunade spoke with the council about the eight of us."

"Well, goodbye, Naruto. See you when I return."

"Bye, Neji."

As Neji left, Naruto prepared to leave himself. He could tell it was nearly one, and he had to be sure to report back to the Leaf Village where he would be briefed on the goings-on of the village, and then sent out to patrol.

He teleported back to the Leaf and received his briefing. He also spoke with Tsunade about the admission of the four applicants. She agreed that in two days they would test the four to see if they were ready for the rank of White Op.

"Naruto-sensei, would you mind helping me train for the test?" asked Naruto's student, who would be applying for the White Ops.

"Tai, I think you're ready without any more training."

"Come on, please?" Tai Aguni was only sixteen. Naruto had started training him when he was promoted to genin at twelve. In the four years of training, Tai had shown more promise than any other ninja in the village, being chunin before thirteen and jonin only a year later. Tai was a member of the Aguni clan. The Aguni clan was famous for its golden fire-type chakra. It was said that the Aguni clan could learn any Fire-Style jutsu by only watching it. They had extremely large chakra reserves and were ferocious fighters.

Naruto had learned much of this through experience. Tai always wanted to train. Rock Lee had taught him much in the way of taijutsu, and Kakashi was only too happy to share his large knowledge of Fire-Style. Tai was quite possibly the most destructive ninja in the village, and that wasn't even half of his skills. Through rigorous training, Naruto and Tai had discovered that Tai also had an affinity for Lightning Style.

Naruto agreed and they went to the training field. Even though Tai was so young, he was still a ferocious fighter. If Naruto left any kind of opening, Tai would take it. They began with basic taijutsu. Naruto swung his fist for Tai's face, but Tai easily blocked and swung for Naruto's head. Naruto jumped back and summoned two Shadow Clones to assist. The clones and Naruto charged for Tai. They began throwing random, yet somehow coordinated, kicks and punches, looking for any hit on Tai's person. Tai easily dodged or blocked. He was too fast for this level of taijutsu, so Naruto pushed it further. He began using his own variant of basic taijutsu. This was a bit harder for Tai to keep up with, but he soon found the pattern and kept right up with Naruto. He scored a kick to the gut of one of Naruto's clones and sent it flying into the other, causing both to fall to the ground in a large puff of smoke.

Naruto kicked Tai back and jumped back, forming hand signs.

"Wind Style: Leaf Shuriken Jutsu!"

Immediately, the wind picked up and blew a large group of downed leaves from a nearby tree straight at Tai. The leaves began to spin and act just as shuriken. Tai remembered the last time Naruto used this jutsu. It was very dangerous. He'd seen many ninja think that they were just leaves, but Tai knew better. They were shuriken, influenced by Naruto's chakra to be extremely sharp.

Tai quickly formed hand signs of his own.

"Fire Style: Flame Puff Jutsu!"

Tai then released a large puff of fire from his lips. The fire consumed Naruto's leaves instantly.

Naruto only smiled. He had expected Tai to burn them. Suddenly, Naruto saw two large kunai emerge from the smoke and fire. He jumped to the side, dodging the knives, but realized that he had jumped into a trap.

"Nice try, Naruto-sensei, but not good enough!" Tai immediately formed multiple hand signs, and placed his hand on the ground. The ground began to crack and the cracks spread toward Naruto. The ground beneath Naruto suddenly exploded. Naruto barely had time to move as a giant molten claw emerged, grabbing at him.

"You're already using that jutsu?"

"You know it!"

The claw braced itself, and a giant molten dragon emerged from the ground. It roared a greeting to Naruto.

"Good to see you too, big guy! Tai, I'm getting tired of taking him down. If anyone watched us fight, they'd have you figured out in no time."

"I have to make sure I know how to control him. If I don't, it could mean trouble."

"Fine," said Naruto, already forming more hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu: Spray Toad Summoning!"

A giant toad appeared next to Naruto. It sprayed forth a powerful jet of water at the molten dragon. As the water collided with its molten scales, smoke began to rise from its body. When the toad finished and disappeared, all that was left of the molten dragon was a large statue.

"Now to finish it!"

Suddenly, a Shadow Clone emerged from beneath the statue using a Rasengan. The attack shattered the molten dragon, leaving nothing but chunks of rock scattered across the field.

"I think that's enough, Tai. I need to get back and speak with Granny."

"But we haven't even finished the fight yet!"

"I know, but the test is tomorrow, and I have to fill out the paperwork for you, Kiba, Sai, and Choji."

"Fine! But wait until you see me fight for the test. I'll be sure to use my real jutsu then!"

"I can't wait!"

The rest of the day proceeded without incident. Naruto spoke with Lady Tsunade about the new applicants, picked up Sakura for a date, and went home to rest. The next morning would be a big day. As captain of the White Ops, he was tasked with testing the four applicants to be sure they were ready. He would have to spar with each one to test their abilities. Somehow, he knew he wouldn't enjoy this.

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><p>Okay! So I know that this fight was a bit short, but believe me, I'll make up for it later. Up next, it's a whole lot of fighting!<p> 


	4. Chapter 3: New Members

I don't own Naruto.

Okay, here's chapter 3. This chapter is basically going to set up the future character structure. This will set up some of the future teams. Enjoy

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: New Members<strong>

Rain poured from the dark sky as Naruto walked to the training field. Today he would test Tai, Sai, Kiba, and Choji. He was looking forward to sparring with each of them. Naruto frowned as he realized how bad this would hurt.

He met Tsunade and the others at the training field. He greeted everyone and Tsunade chose Sai to go first.

"Ready, begin!"

At Tsunade's call, both Naruto and Sai jumped into action. Naruto threw three shuriken at Sai, who countered with three shuriken of his own. The shuriken collided in mid-air. When everyone looked back from the shuriken, both ninja were gone.

"Where'd they go?" asked Choji.

"Sai's in the air on one of his drawings. Naruto teleported," said Yamato.

Everyone watched closely as Naruto appeared on the back of Sai's eagle and began to fight Sai hand-to-hand. The two went at it for a few minutes, using their chakra to stay planted on the eagle's back. Yamato and the others tried to see what was happening, but due to the distance, many of them were unable to see. Suddenly, Sai was knocked off the eagle and began to plummet toward the ground. Sai quickly pulled out his pen and ink and drew a new creation to save him. This was a Pegasus. Sai also drew a sword to use as he flew toward Naruto.

Naruto formed hand signs and a giant gust of wind blew toward the Pegasus. The drawing tried to fly forward, but Naruto's jutsu was to powerful, and it was forced back. It rolled over Sai and vanished.

"I'm not done yet, Naruto!" said Sai as he formed many hand signs.

"Neither am I!" yelled Naruto, forming his own hand signs.

"Funnel Cloud Jutsu!" yelled Naruto, finishing his hand signs first.

"Summoning Jutsu: Great Ink Dragon!"

Sai slammed his fist to the ground and summoned a giant dragon made of ink. The dragon shielded Sai as Naruto's funnel cloud approached. The dragon was hard pressed to protect Sai, but soon Naruto's jutsu wore off, and the dragon roared victoriously. Sai had already started forming more hand signs.

"Fire Style: Ink Dragon Breath Jutsu!"

The dragon roared again as a giant fireball emerged from its mouth. The fireball was headed straight for Naruto, who performed his own summoning.

"Summoning Jutsu: Spray Toad Summoning!"

The large toad appeared in a puff of smoke and sprayed its burst of water at the fireball. The water prevailed and continued on to strike the dragon, washing away the ink that had been used to summon it.

Naruto had already summoned another toad and was preparing another attack.

"Summoning Jutsu: Lightning Toad Summoning!"

The summoned toad shot a large blast of lightning out of an orb on its stomach. Sai was unable to block the attack, and was thrown back into a tree.

"That's enough!" called Tsunade. She had seen enough. She knew that each boy would continue and could possibly hurt each other.

The veteran White Ops immediately met and discussed the battle, analyzing the ups and downs of Sai's style. Finally, they agreed upon a decision and allowed Sai to join them. Next Tsunade chose Choji to face Yamato while Naruto rested. Naruto was glad to take a break.

The battle was short. Choji quickly showed that he had incredible power, rolling through every barricade Yamato could construct. After ten minutes with no clear winner, Tsunade called the match, and the White Ops admitted Choji as a new member.

"Now," said Tsunade, "since both Naruto and Yamato have fought and are tired, we'll break for lunch. Be back at three for the remainder of the tests."

The group left and went to Ichiraku. At three o'clock, Naruto and the others returned, ready for another round of tests.

Tsunade decided that after a short break, Yamato would test Kiba first, and then Naruto and Tai would face each other. Although sensei did not typically test students, Tsunade allowed it this time because of Tai's pleading.

Kiba and Yamato didn't take long. Much like Choji, Kiba powered through all of Yamato's barricades. Yamato had no choice but to take an offensive, and even then, Kiba had no trouble. Kiba was a definite pick to be in the White Ops. When the battle was over, Sakura and Tsunade proceeded to look over Yamato's minor injuries, while Naruto and Tai began to warm up.

After finishing with Yamato and Kiba, Tsunade returned to call the fight between Naruto and Tai, but when she returned, she realized that Naruto and Tai were already at each other's throats. Both had prepared a Rasengan and were now charging full-speed.

"Naruto's going to regret teaching him that jutsu," said a voice, startling Tsunade.

She sighed with relief. "Kakashi, I trust the mission went well?

Naruto and Tai collided, sending out a massive shockwave, ruffling Kakashi's spiky silver hair.

"Yes, we found exactly what we were looking for. Madara's co-conspirators are still out there, trying to find an army to attack with."

Another massive collision of jutsu from Naruto and Tai sent a second shockwave across the field. Tsunade nearly lost her footing.

"Any in particular that are dangerous?" she asked.

"Not really. Most are retreating to the Metal Villages, and that's where the big threat is."

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Assault!" shouted Tai, releasing a massive blast of fire at Naruto, who barely dodged the attack.

"Oh yeah! Well take this! Orange Flash Jutsu!"

Naruto immediately teleported behind Tai and struck him with a Rasengan, only to find a Shadow Clone in his place. Naruto noticed he was surrounded by Tai look-alikes.

"Not good," muttered Naruto.

"Try this sensei! Aguni Clan Secret Jutsu: Golden Chakra Exploding Clone!"

Each of the Shadow Clones immediately exploded, sending Naruto into the sky.

"Aguni Barrage!" said Tai as he jumped over his sensei and prepared to kick him back to the ground. His foot made contact, but Naruto immediately vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Nice try, Tai, using my old jutsu, but it's not enough."

"I think you should call it before they kill each other, Lady Tsunade."

"You're right, Kakashi. Alright, you two, enough. It's time to decide if Tai passes."

The White Ops, including Kakashi, immediately discussed how well Tai had performed, and decided to allow him to join the White Ops.

"That settles it then," said Tsunade. "I'll have assigned the teams by tomorrow. Everyone in the White Ops needs to meet me in conference room 4 at 9:00a.m. sharp. Dismissed!"

Everyone immediately left, tired after the day's activities.

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><p>Well, that's the end of that. Up next, a new hokage will be named, and Naruto and the others will receive their new missions. See ya!<p> 


	5. Chapter 4: Investigate!

**I don't own Naruto!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Investigate!<strong>

Naruto awoke the next morning, put on his gear, and headed for the Hokage's mansion. He arrived at conference room 4, and sat down. As he entered the room, he noticed that he was the second to arrive at the circular table. The only other to arrive so far was Kakashi, which was very odd, considering his mentor's habitual showing up late for almost every appointment or meeting. This must be important, he thought.

Slowly but surely, the remaining members began to show up. They spoke loudly to each other, discussing different events and techniques. Shikamaru, who had returned from the Hidden Sand, asked Naruto when he planned to marry Sakura. They'd been engaged for six months, and many expected them to marry at any time, but Naruto told Shikamaru that he planned to wait until he became Hokage.

At 9:00, Tsunade arrived, carrying a large folder filled with papers.

"Good morning, everyone. We have much to discuss," she said, taking her place at the head of the table and placing the large file in front of her.

"What's up, Granny?" asked Naruto.

"Thanks to Kakashi and Shino, we now know that Madara's former lieutenants are trying to find an army, and seem to be trying to find a way to attack."

"Is that all?"

"No, we also know that the Sound Village has finally rebuilt and is raising an army. They've finally found a new Otokage."

"Who?"

"We believe it is Matthias, a.k.a. the Carnivore."

"The Carnivore!" the entire room said in surprise.

"Yes, and we also know that he has at least five generals."

"Lady Tsunade," asked Tai. "How bad is the Carnivore?"

"Naruto, you were the last to face him. How bad is he?"

"Not good. He stole Sasuke's Sharingan. He's not as strong as Sasuke was, mind you, but he's deadly. The good news is he's not quite as good with it as Kakashi. The bad news is that he's not the only one who has one of Sasuke's eyes. His brother stole the other. The Carnivore and his brother are strong, way past kage level."

"What a drag!" said Shikamaru.

"Where's his brother?" asked Tsunade.

"Probably in the same village," said Kakashi. "They tend to work together, but we can't be sure of Draman's presence."

"Draman?" asked Sakura.

"The Carnivore's brother," explained Naruto.

"I've decided on a four-man cell for this mission. Normally I would assign teams, then worry about who's going on the mission, but I can't afford that now. I've decided that Naruto, Shikamaru, Tai, and Kakashi will compose a squad and infiltrate the Sound Village; they're supposed to have some kind of war conference. Kiba, Neji, Yamato, and Sakura will compose a second squad and go to the Metal Villages and see what they can find, once Neji returns, of course. You will all leave at 8 tomorrow morning. Everyone, prepare for your missions, and Naruto, I need to speak with you."

Everyone left Naruto and Tsunade alone. The room was quiet for a moment.

"What's up, Granny?"

"Don't call me that!" yelled Tsunade.

"Sorry!" said Naruto hurriedly, already noticing that the chakra was building up in her left arm.

"Good," said Tsunade, relaxing. "I wanted to talk to you about your seal on the Nine-Tails. How strong is it?"

Naruto's smile faded away. Tsunade meant business. "Strong enough to keep him from ever escaping. Why?"

"Because we don't want any of Madara's lieutenants getting their hands on it."

"They won't. I sealed the Fox back in his own world. There's no way they could get him out. Even if they did, I could seal him right back. It's safe."

"Naruto, the Nine-Tails is powerful. I don't need him getting out."

"He won't. If he does, I'll send him right back. He has to honor our contract, or I have the power to destroy him. The contract strictly says that. I had you, Shikaku, Inoichi, Temari, Gaara, and Shikamaru read over it. We're safe."

Tsunade smiled. She knew they were safe. She only wanted to make sure that no one could break Naruto's seals.

"Then we have one more thing to discuss. When are you finally going to marry Sakura?"

"I don't know. I figured I would wait until I was Hokage."

"Just how old do you think I am?"

"That's not what I meant."

"I know, but now you have no excuse. You are now the Seventh Hokage."

Naruto couldn't speak. He couldn't believe it.

"I spoke with the council about it, and they agree. You should be the Hokage. It will be announced officially when you return to the village. Good luck!"

Naruto thanked her and left with a huge grin on his face. His dream was finally coming true.

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><p>Well, chapter 4 is up, and I'll try to get chapter 5 up soon. See ya!<p> 


	6. Chapter 5: Naruto's Mission

I don't own Naruto!

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Naruto's Mission!<strong>

Naruto and his team met at seven the next morning. They wanted to discuss the mission before heading out. At five minutes until eight, Tsunade arrived, followed by the second team. After wishing both teams luck, Tsunade prepared to leave. Naruto and Sakura said their goodbyes and joined their respective teams. Naruto didn't tell her of his promotion, however, because he decided that would be a great surprise for later.

Naruto's team left and had no trouble in their journey to the Land of Rice Patties, which took only five days. Before they crossed the border and entered the Forest of Forgotten Sounds, which was considered Sound Village territory, they made up a plan. Naruto, as captain, would lead, followed by Tai, who could help Naruto in case of an attack. Third was Shikamaru, who could help Kakashi if he needed it. This also gave Shikamaru a break, since his strengths were not in quick melee combat. Finally, Kakashi brought up the rear. Thanks to his experience, he was the best choice for this position, seeing as how he could respond to nearly any situation.

The team continued for about a day longer, then met an ANBU about four miles from the Sound Village's known location. The ANBU, upon noticing them, had tried to ambush them, but Naruto immediately sensed the attack and caught all four shuriken that the ninja had thrown. The ninja then charged with his katana from a different direction, hoping to score a hit with a surprise attack. Shikamaru, however, saw him coming and caught him with his shadow. The ANBU gave up and was buried using Kakashi's Headhunter Jutsu. They also sealed his hands with a chakra restraining seal developed by Kakashi, and, using a jutsu Shikamaru developed to keep Ino quiet, sealed his mouth shut, hopefully making sure that he wouldn't be found for a while.

"I never thought that jutsu I used on Ino would be so valuable in the field," said Shikamaru after they stopped to make camp.

"I know. It sure does come in handy," replied Tai. "Can you teach it to me?"

"Maybe later," said Shikamaru. Both Naruto and Tai knew that later would never come for Shikamaru.

After a few hours rest, a few hours before sunrise, Naruto and the others awoke and began to make their way toward the Sound Village. Once they reached the gates, they decided to kill the guards and take their equipment. Then they could send Shikamaru in to see what was going on. Their plan was executed perfectly. Kakashi and Naruto appeared behind each of the two guards and strangled them, preferring not to get blood on the uniforms.

Shikamaru donned one of the uniforms, and before he left, Naruto created a mark on his left arm.

"If you're found out and need backup, just release this mark. It will send out a wave of sage chakra. I'm the only one who'll even know you released it."

Shikamaru nodded and entered the village. He kept to the shadows of the early morning, hoping to remain unnoticed. His plan worked. He made it to the Otokage's mansion, a large five-story building, with no trouble at all. He crept in one of the side windows and found himself in a long hallway which intersected with another hallway halfway down. The hall was dotted with rooms all the way down. Shikamaru heard someone coming and ran for a door, which was locked from the inside. He performed the rat sign and his shadow crept under the door. It reached up the door and unlocked the door, allowing him to enter.

Shikamaru crept into the room and shut the door behind him. He had entered what appeared to be a janitor's closet.

'What a drag!' he thought.

He waited until he was sure the person was gone, then left the closet. He continued down the hall, checking each room as he went. None were any important rooms. He saw out the window of one of the rooms and noticed the sun was rising. It would soon be time for the war conference. He needed to find the conference room, and fast. He went downstairs and carefully began searching. Many of the staff noticed him, but because of his mask and uniform, paid him no attention. Finally, after nearly an hour of searching, he found the conference room. He was on the third floor, and the only reason he believed the room to be the conference room was because of the four ANBU stationed outside the door.

From his position around the corner, he used his Shadow Strangle Jutsu to incapacitate the four guards silently. Then he strode up to the door. He put his ear to the door to listen. There were many voices, but he only recognized a few.

"You're crazy, Lord Otokage," came a voice Shikamaru believed to belong to the Zassokage, the overweight, arrogant, conniving leader of the Village Hidden in the Weeds. Shikamaru never did like that man.

"No, it is a brilliant plan. And you will follow it to the letter, Lord Zassokage," came a voice Shikamaru guessed belonged to the Otokage.

"Lord Otokage," came a nasally voice Shikamaru believed to belong to the Ginkage, leader of the Silver Village, one of the four Metal Villages, "I have to agree with Lord Zassokage. Your methods are a bit…overzealous."

"I also agree," said a woman Shikamaru was sure was the Mizuumikage, leader of the Lake Village.

Several others voiced their feelings on the matter, but none that Shikamaru recognized.

"Listen to me!" bellowed a deep, powerful voice. "My brother's plan may sound crazy, but the Leaf Alliance is weak. They could not handle an assault from all of us. We have the Old World Villages on our side. With their power, we will crush the Leaf."

"Not good," said Shikamaru, guessing that this new speaker was Dramon. "I've got to tell Naruto."

Shikamaru turned to leave but was interrupted by a new arrival.

"What's going on here?" yelled the startled ANBU.

"What a drag!" said Shikamaru, preparing his Shadow Strangle Jutsu, but he was knifed from behind, apparently the ANBU inside had heard the startled man that had found Shikamaru.

Shikamaru fell to his knees, but to everyone's surprise, he was immediately engulfed in shadows. When the shadows disappeared, he was gone.

"FIND HIM!" ordered the Otokage, and the ANBU immediately left to scour the village.

As the kages discussed who the intruder could have been, Shikamaru was making his escape. He had used his Shadow Walker Jutsu to move himself away from the battle, but his injury was beginning to take its toll. He fell to his knees in an alley a few blocks from the mansion.

"I gotta get out of here," he said under his breath. He tried to move, but collapsed. Unsure what else to do, he released the seal Naruto placed on his arm. Moments later, the ANBU showed up. They were taking Shikamaru away when one fell with a kunai in his forehead. The others immediately dropped Shikamaru *ooof* and turned to meet the new threat. The remaining six ANBU were hopelessly outmatched. Three were down instantly, due to three well placed shuriken. The other three were attacked from behind. They met with a storm of taijutsu, and even though they were ANBU, they were no match for the storm that now met them. After they were all either dead or unconscious, which was only about thirty seconds later, Naruto took back his weapons and picked up Shikamaru. The two then left to go meet with the others.

On the way back, Shikamaru told Naruto what he had found out. Naruto wasn't too happy with the news. Once he got back, Tai used one of his Fire-Style healing jutsu to heal Shikamaru's back. The four immediately left to meet with Tsunade, but didn't get far when Draman and four ANBU caught up with them.

"Well, look who it is! It's Naruto Uzumaki! Or is it Namikaze now? I never could get that straight!"

Naruto turned, handing Shikamaru to Kakashi in the process.

"Aww! Guess your friend couldn't take the heat, huh. Guess he'll learn to stay out of the kitchen," said Draman, followed by his over-exaggerated laughter.

"Kakashi," said Naruto, "get Shikamaru out of here. I'll handle this clown! Tai, you take the ANBU!"

"Right," both replied before Kakashi jumped away with Shikamaru.

The ANBU charged, but Tai intercepted them with a wall of fire. The ANBU, however, only jumped over it and focused on Tai. They all charged him. He grinned, forming a Rasengan in his left hand.

"Bye!" he said as the ball expanded. The four ANBU landed in front of him, swords drawn, ready to slice into him, but they didn't get the chance. He shoved his Rasengan forward. It was now big enough to strike all four. The ANBU had never seen such an attack, and as a result of their unpreparedness, were hit by the massive Rasengan. All four were sent flying through the forest, never to be found.

Tai then turned to watch Naruto fight the leader. Naruto had already given the man quite a few scrapes, but when Tai saw his face, he nearly wet his pants.

'That must be the Sharingan!' he thought. He watched as the fight continued. Draman launched a Water Dragon Missile at Naruto, who easily dodged. Then Naruto summoned a Rasenshuriken and sent it hurling for Draman.

Draman jumped to dodge and started forming hand signs. "Fire Style: Phoenix Breath Jutsu!"

Draman then launched a massive blast of fire straight at Naruto. Naruto had nowhere to run for cover. Tai almost jumped in to absorb the jutsu using his chakra, but then he saw that Naruto was forming his own hand signs.

"Secret Sage Art: Elemental Absorption!"

Immediately, four of Naruto's clones appeared and faced the attack. They stretched their palms toward the attack, and a large vortex of wind swirled around each hand. The fire was dragged into the hands of the clones, and when all of the fire was gone, the seal for fire appeared on each of their palms. Then the clones dispersed.

"What did you do?" asked a bewildered Draman.

"I used my Sage Arts to absorb your attack. I can use this jutsu to absorb any of the five elements. It's genius."

"I'll show you genius!" yelled Draman as he gathered his chakra. "Tsukuyomi!"

"What!" cried Naruto as the genjutsu took effect.

Naruto was trapped in the world created by Tsukuyomi. He watched as Draman walked up and began to plunge his sword into Naruto. Naruto only smiled.

"Why are you smiling? Enjoying the pain?" asked Draman.

"Nope, I'm just wondering when you'll figure out that this doesn't work on me."

"Of course it does. You're here."

"Wrong again. You're in my genjutsu."

The world unraveled and revealed a quiet plane. Flowers danced as a light breeze blew.

"This is your genjutsu? I've seen genin with better…Hello?"

The plane was silent.

"Fine. I'll just sit here and rest then!"

Suddenly, a large creature rose up behind Draman. Draman turned around to see what had snuck up on him, and he wet his pants. Standing behind him was the Nine-Tailed Fox…and he looked hungry.

Draman screamed and ran in terror. The fox only grinned wickedly and stabbed him with his claw. His prey now caught, the fox picked Draman up and threw him in his mouth.

Not a second later, Draman fell over. Whether dead or unconscious, Naruto didn't know. He was still laughing at the grown ninja that had just wet himself.


	7. Chapter 6: An Army?

I don't own Naruto!

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: An Army?<strong>

Sakura, Neji, Kiba, and Yamato had left the village three days ago. They were only two days away from the first of the Metal Villages. The Metal Villages were four villages nestled west of the Stone Village. They were the Gold Village, Silver Village, Bronze Village, and Steel Village. These four villages were once the leading villages in what was known as the Metal Empire, but after the fall of the Empire, the villages had become very isolated.

They arrived at the Stone Village that evening and met with Onoki, the Tsuchikage, to discuss their mission. After the Fourth Shinobi World War, each of the major villages had formed an alliance. The Leaf Alliance consisted of many of the villages in the land, such as the Cloud, Herb, Stone, Leaf, Sand, Mist, Wave, Dark, and Waterfall Villages.

After a brief night's stay, they left and continued toward the Metal Villages. After two days, they found the Valley of Mines, an immense valley which housed the Silver Village. The four were shocked at what they saw. From the mountains overlooking the valley, they could see the Silver Village, but that wasn't what surprised them. The area surrounding the village was heavily forested, but around the Silver Village, the trees had all been cut back. In their place was a humongous military camp.

"That must be the combined forces of the villages," said Kiba.

"It's massive!" said Neji.

"Neji," said Sakura, "can you zoom in with your Byakugan?"

Neji nodded, and activated his kekkai-genkai. Several moments later, his face paled.

"What's wrong?" asked Yamato.

"I see the banners of at least six villages. All four of the Metal Villages, and the Lake and Forest Villages."

"But they're due north of here. Why are they here?" asked Sakura.

"I don't know, but we need to alert the Stone Village," said Neji.

With that, the four left, heading back to the Stone.

"You can't be serious!" said Onoki.

"We know what we saw," said Neji.

"What do we do, Lord Tsuchikage?" asked an ANBU.

"We need to call an Alliance Council Meeting. Inform the other villages at once. I guess I can trust your team to let the Hokage know?"

"Of course," said Yamato.

"Good. We will schedule it for two months from now in the Land of Iron."

"We'll tell the Hokage," replied Yamato.

"Good luck. We'll all need it," said Onoki.

/

Naruto was still laughing when he and Tai caught up with Kakashi.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"You should have seen the look on that guys face!" said Tai.

"Yeah. He even wet himself!" cried Naruto.

"What did you do to him?" asked Kakashi.

"I used my Nine-Tailed Genjutsu! It was hilarious!"

"Naruto, you need to be careful. If he survived—"

"He'll be the first," interrupted Naruto.

"Fine, but I still think you should be more careful. You may be the strongest ninja around, but you still need to watch yourself."

"I will Kakashi-sensei."

"Good. Now hold Shikamaru. He's heavy."

A few days later, Naruto and the others got back to the Leaf Village. They discussed what they had discovered, and Shikamaru was well enough to tell his story. Another day passed and Sakura's team returned with the unsettling news.

"I guess we have no choice," said Tsunade. "I'm in no shape to handle another war as Hokage. The decision has been made. I will step down in four days."

"Who will be your successor?" asked Sakura, pretty sure she knew the answer.

"I will tell you when I'm ready. Until then, you're all dismissed.

The eight ninja left and began working on security detail for the ceremony. They began deciding on the placement of ANBU and White Ops, and debated whether Naruto or Shikamaru would be Hokage.

Finally the night before the ceremony came. Naruto had taken Sakura on a date. As they finished supper, he told her the news.

"I'm the Seventh," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm the Seventh Hokage," he said.

Sakura's eyes went wide. "Naruto, this is wonderful!"

"I know. I was wondering when you wanted to get married. I said I was waiting until I made Hokage. Now I have."

"When do you want to?"

"I was thinking immediately after the summit."

"That's great. That gives me a little time to prepare."

"I thought you'd say that."

"Nothing big, Naruto; just something colorful."

'Oh no!' thought Naruto.

/

"Well?"

"Draman is dead. He was killed after we found a spy."

"I see, Otokage. Did you get his Sharingan?"

"Of course. It's in the village."

"When do you want us to strike?"

"Not yet. The time is not right. The jutsu is not in place. As you know, it requires much chakra, and my agent in the north has not collected enough yet."

"We need to strike, before they find us out."

"WE WILL NOT! We will not strike until he is on our side. In order to obtain him, we must collect enough chakra. The time will soon come. Be patient Otokage. I would hate to replace you, just as I did your successor."

"Yes, my lord. Forgive me."

"I grow tired. Leave me."

The Otokage left without another word, angered at his master's words.

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><p>Okay, so this was chapter 6, and I hope to have another up soon. I'm sorry about it being nearly a month since I posted, but I've been busy. I went ahead and submitted two chapters over the past two days to make up for it. If I can, I might be able to submit another before the end of the weekend. Now for something serious. I know what I wrote in this chapter, but I may end up changing the relationship. If I do, I will use an OC. If you want me to switch the relationship for Naruto, I will, but I need you to let me know. I will go by which one gets more votes. Just review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!<p>

P.S. I do already have the OC (Naruto's possible gf) mostly planned just in case.


	8. Chapter 7

I don't own Naruto.

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Enter: Kayla!<strong>

"Welcome, all of you," said Tsunade. "As you all know, I'm too old for this. If I sit in that office another minute I'll go crazy. I've made my decision for the Seventh Hokage. I have chosen…Naruto Namikaze!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. Naruto had become well-known in the Leaf, and everyone loved him.

"Good luck," she said as she handed him the Hokage's hat. "You'll need it."

Naruto grinned and took the hat, then he turned to the masses and yelled, "BELIEVE IT!"

/

"So help me, if this turns out to be another suicide mission, I'll kill the Otokage myself!" Kayla said to the two ANBU who flanked her as she flew through the forest near the Leaf Village.

"Ma'am, you should be careful. Lord Otokage may not like your attitude."

"Like I care. He only got the job because Raphael said so. He's no match for me."

"Lady Kayla, if you continue like this, we will have to arrest you."

"Care to try?"

Both ANBU remained silent.

"I thought so. Now let's go kill the Fifth Hokage."

They made it to the Leaf Village gates, and slaughtered the guards. Then they entered the village. It didn't take long until they were caught by a young boy, no more than sixteen. He had blonde hair and green eyes. He was short.

"Who are you?" asked Kayla.

"The real question is who you are. Judging by that symbol, I can tell you're not from here."

"You're right. We're from the Sound Village."

"Why are you here?"

"We have orders."

"Does this have something to do with the Seventh Hokage?"

"No. Just the last of the Sannin."

"Lady Tsunade? What do you want with her?"

"She's the last of the Sannin. The Otokage wants her dead."

"Well that won't happen."

"I wouldn't be so sure. KILL HIM!"

The ANBU immediately jumped for the blonde, but he dodged and kicked them both into the ground. The two were unable to avoid the strike and fell to the ground under the sheer force of his kick.

Kayla was shocked. This boy was strong. Who was he?

"Fine then. I'll kill you myself. Lightning Style: Bolt Whip!" Kayla said, drawing her whip. The weapon crackled with electricity.

"No way. I'll take you down! Fire Style: Dragon Breath Jutsu!"

A giant blast of fire emerged from the blonde's mouth, consuming everything in its path. Kayla jumped and avoided the attack. Then she threw her whip toward the blonde, but he simply dodged to his right. Kayla flicked her wrist, and the whip flew toward him, catching him in the shoulder, and slamming him against the building behind him.

The boy struggled, unable to move from the electric shock. He tried to move his hands together to form hand signs, but his hands would not respond.

"Sorry, but I guess my lightning jutsu took away your control of your hands. Now where is Tsunade?"

"I'll never tell you!"

"Then DIE!" Kayla said, flicking her wrist and sending the whip flying in his direction. Then the boy did something unexpected. He smiled.

Suddenly, the boy disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What? Where did he go?"

"Right here! Fire Style: Burning Glory!"

Kayla turned in time to see the boy become engulfed in flames. Horns sprouted from his head, and he grew flaming wings. His body now glowed like magma.

"What is this?" Kayla asked, frightened by the sudden transformation.

"This is my real power," the boy said, his voice hoarse and gravelly. "Just before your whip slammed me into the building, I replaced myself with a Smoke Clone. Then I waited for you to figure it out, gathering my chakra for this."

The boy disappeared, only to reappear behind Kayla. Then he punched her from behind, sending her flying into a different building. Kayla couldn't move. She was beaten.

"Who are you?" Kayla asked as the flames receded from the boy's body.

"My name is Tai Aguni, Burning Flame of the Hidden Leaf!"

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><p>This chapter was mostly to introduce Kayla, who has a major role later on. As for what I posted last chapter, remember I'm still trying to decide whether to keep Naruto and Sakura or replace Sakura with an OC. Let me know what you think. Hope you enjoyed it! See ya!<p> 


	9. Chapter 8: Interrogation!

I don't own Naruto!

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: The Interrogation!<strong>

Ibiki sighed. Interrogation was not going well. The girl had been stubborn. She wouldn't say who she was; she barely said anything. The Seventh Hokage was getting annoyed. He had selected one of the White Ops who would interrogate her alone, but he hadn't shown up yet.

The door opened and in walked Shikamaru Nara. Over the years, the tall dark-haired boy had become an expert in interrogation, so much so that he was only called to interrogate in extreme situations. He had long ago surpassed Ibiki as the best. He took his white cloak off, revealing a simple black ninja uniform covered with a forest green jonin vest. After all these years, he still had it.

Ibiki took him to the interrogation room where Kayla was held and opened the door. Shikamaru stepped inside as the door was closed behind him. He turned to face his captive…and nearly fell over from shock.

He had never seen someone so beautiful. Her raven colored hair reached to her lower back, and her blue eyes were gorgeous and filled with determination. Shikamaru stared into her eyes, and something told him that no matter how long he spent, or how hard he tried, he would never be able to understand this girl. She would forever be a mystery to him.

Shikamaru shook himself. 'What a drag!' he thought. 'You know that I would have to interrogate the pretty one.'

"So let's begin," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was here to kill the Fifth Hokage."

"The Fifth? Are you sure you don't mean the Seventh?"

"I'm sure. I wasn't even aware that there was a Seventh."

"I see. Why did you want to kill the Fifth?"

"She's the last of the Sannin. The Otokage ordered that she be executed."

"But why? What purpose would that serve?"

"I don't know. I was just sent on the mission."

"So you have no idea why you were sent?"

"No. I don't know."

"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked. This was the question that she had clammed up on.

The girl remained silent.

"I'd rather not force you to talk, but I will if I have to."

Silence.

"Fine. What a drag! Ninja Art: Seven Terrors!" Shikamaru said, and his shadow began to engulf the entire room. Kayla watched as the shadow began to ripple, like the surface of a pond. A horrible smell filled the room. Suddenly, something emerged from the shadows. A putrid, pig-shaped shadow being emerged. Kayla nearly screamed as the beast began to smell her hair. Then another emerged from the floor on her left, this one shaped like a giant crow. It came over and pecked her leg. This time Kayla did scream.

"I'll talk! Please just get this thing away!"

Shikamaru released the jutsu, and the girl fell over onto the table.

"My name…is Kayla. I'm the daughter of one of the main families in the Sound Village."

"I see. Now why were you ordered to kill Lady Tsunade?"

"I can't honestly say for sure, but I think it had something to do with her knowledge. I think she knows something that the Otokage wishes she not be around to share."

"Like what?" Shikamaru said with force.

"I really don't know!"

"Fine. I'll be in touch," said Shikamaru as he opened the door.

Ibiki met him back at the entrance.

"Well?" he asked.

"Looks like Tsunade was right. The Otokage wants her dead. He's planning something, that's for sure."

"What should we do?"

"I'll speak to Yamato about some security from root. You let me know if she remembers anything."

"Yes, sir."

Shikamaru walked through the village, still thinking about Kayla.

"There was something different about her, almost as if she had no respect for the Otokage. She never referred to him as 'Lord Otokage.' I wonder what's up."

"Lord Shikamaru, Lord Hokage wants to see you," said a young chunin.

Shikamaru nodded and immediately left to see Naruto.

He appeared in Naruto's office in a puff of smoke.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if you learned anything."

Shikamaru proceeded to tell Naruto about what Kayla had said. It was a few moments later when Shikamaru finished.

"I see. I'm glad you got her name."

"Yeah. Maybe we can figure out who she is."

"I'll ask Granny. She might know who she is. By the way, I have a mission for us. I've spoken with Granny Tsunade and she says she doesn't mind to take over while I go on a few missions, but not overly dangerous ones."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course! I can't let you guys have all the fun."

"Alright, whatever. What's the mission?"

"It's a diplomatic mission. Lady Mizuumikage of the Lake Village wants to join our alliance. She's even brought her forces out of the valley and back to the village. I'm going to take a team tomorrow and meet her. We will then escort her to the summit."

"Who's going?"

"Just me, you, and Tai. I wanted to keep it small. I don't want the village to be unprotected. Some of the others will accompany Granny to the summit and meet us there."

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow at noon."

"Alright. No problem."

/

Sakura sat playing with Itachi. He was such a bright and happy kid. She couldn't believe that he was Sasuke's. She wondered if Naruto was sure about his adoption plans. How would he ever explain what had happened to Itachi's father? She left the adoption center and went to talk to Ino. She always had some insult to takes Sakura's mind off of things.

/

"Well?"

"Kayla was captured."

"…"

"Will we continue with the plan?"

"Yes. We will start with their summit. Mobilize the troops in the Weed and Rain. They will attack. We will kill their kages before they can mount a defense."

"Very well, sir."

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><p>Okay, so this was to get Shikamaru's love interest involved. Some of you may be wondering what happened to Temari. Well, she's still around, but her and Shikamaru had a big break up. That's not really a big deal and relationships are a bit secondary for now. Anyway, the voting for whether or not Naruto will marry Sakura or not is still open. I've decided that I will cut the voting when I post chapter 15. That will be the last major chapter before relationships begin to blossom. I hope to have that chapter and every one up to it up by the end of the month. See ya!<p> 


	10. Chapter 9: Naruto vs The 3 Mizuumikages

I don't own Naruto! Voting for Naruto&Sakura or Naruto&OC is still open until I get to chapter 15. Send me a message or review with your vote!

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Naruto vs. The Three Mizuumikages!<strong>

Naruto and his team made their way through the forested region of the Land of Water. They had just passed the Mist Village two days ago and were now only three days away from the Lake Village.

The Lake Village was a small but powerful village nestled in the mountainous regions of the Land of Lakes. The ninja of the Lake Village were powerful, though many had never heard of them. Historically, the Lake Village had been founded by rebels from the Mist Village who wanted to have peace. Because of this desire for peace, the Lake Village had not taken sides in nearly any war.

When Naruto, Shikamaru, and Tai arrived in the village, they were immediately taken to meet the Fifth Mizuumikage, Kari, who was a blonde, blue-eyed girl of twenty. She had received the rank of kage after her father died. She seemed to be a kind, tender girl, and Tai was totally smitten.

The first discussions between Naruto and Kari were formally diplomatic, but after their third conference, the two reached a decision, and an alliance was forged. Kari agreed to accompany them to the summit. Naruto and the others spent the rest of their week being escorted around the village, viewing the many sights that the Lake Village had to offer. Their visit was going smoothly, until three days before they were to leave.

They were speaking in Kari's office when a chunin ran in and told them that a representative from the Sound, Ken, had come to speak with her about a possible garrison of Sound ninja. Naruto and the others were shooed to a different part of the village, and Kari was left to speak with Ken.

"Where do you intend to hide them? My people are not very trusting."

"I was considering the caves to the south. There is plenty of room there to hide a force of ninja. I would like to tour them. I will be ready in two hours. You yourself will escort me, Lady Mizuumikage."

Kari nodded. She told her ANBU to let Naruto know immediately.

Naruto carefully followed Kari and Ken. She was careful to be sure that he was not seen. He had told Shikamaru and Tai to remain in the village and take care of Ken's escort.

Naruto listened as they spoke in the middle of a large field surrounded by hills that were dotted with caves.

"I know you are making a deal with the Leaf. I've decided you should be killed for your insolence. That's why I wanted to bring you here, so I can kill you quietly."

Kari's escorts lunged at Ken, but they were quickly dispatched by Ken. Then he turned to Kari, forming hand signs.

"Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation!"

"What?" said Naruto, though not breaking his cover.

Three large caskets rose from the ground. When the lids were removed, three old men stood before Kari. Naruto could see the family resemblance.

"How dare you!" screamed Kari.

Ken grinned as three clones inserted tagged kunai into the ninja. "Fortunately for you, as long as I maintain this jutsu, I'm stuck keeping this hand sign. Oh well."

The first of the dead men turned to Kari. He was wearing an outfit that reminded Naruto of the Second Hokage. He had piercing blue eyes and golden hair. He seemed to Naruto to have an aura of power. He began forming hand signs, and water emerged from the ground around Kari's feet, grabbing on and holding her to the spot.

Now the second of the three, wearing the standard black ninja garb with thick-plated green armor on his shoulders, chest, and sides, formed one-handed signs as well, and an orb of water appeared in his open hand. This orb of water then spread up his arm, forming a gauntlet. He charged toward Kari, the water forming a sword extending past his hand. Kari leaned to the left, and then backhanded the man across the face, sending him flying.

The third man formed his own hand signs, and the water in a nearby lake rose to meet him. With a few more hand signs, the water formed a spear and flew toward Kari.

"Grandfather, no!" screamed Kari as the liquid spear flew at her. She closed her eyes, and braced herself for the attack, but the attack never came. She opened her eyes, and was surprised to see Naruto standing in front of her, stopping the spear with his left hand.

"What?" said Ken. "Who are you?"

With a flick of his wrist, Naruto broke the solidified spear, then smiled. "The name's Naruto Namikaze, Seventh Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

Upon hearing Naruto's identity, Ken smiled. "At last, the chance to kill two kages with one fight."

"Lady Mizuumikage, you stay out of this. I don't want you getting hurt."

Kari nodded, and Naruto proceeded with his fight. He jumped forward, a Rasengan already forming in his right hand. He slammed the attack into the man who had thrown the spear, but the man did budge. Naruto looked down to see that the water had formed a barrier between his Rasengan and the man. He looked back up to the man just as a fist collided with his face. He was thrown back to Kari's side.

"Ahhh! Who are these guys?"

"They are the first three Mizuumikages. The one you just attacked is the Third, the one in the green armor is the Second, and the one in blue armor is the First. They are incredibly powerful, the most powerful from the village. You cannot face them alone."

"I'll be fine, Lady Mizuumikage. I can handle it."

With this, Naruto disappeared, reappearing behind the Third Mizuumikage. He tried stabbing the man with a kunai, but the water caught his wrist. The man turned, the lack of emotion in his eyes evident. He then formed a single hand sign, and the water created a prison around Naruto.

"Looks like you won't last long. These three are greater even than you, Naruto Namikaze," spat Ken.

"You really think this can hold me?" yelled Naruto from inside the prison. "No way!"

The prison suddenly burst open, and the Third Mizuumikage was thrown into the lake. Naruto stood with a smirk on his face. "I'm a wind-type. I can break out of those prisons in no time."

"No matter. You still can't beat the others."

Without warning, the other two jumped forward, followed by the Third, who had jumped from the lake. Each one began a barrage of taijutsu. The First threw a punch at Naruto, who dodged, and countered with a kick of his own. His kick was intercepted by the Third, who then manipulated his water to create an axe that swung toward Naruto. Naruto dodged and was caught in a vice-grip by the Second. At this point, the First and Third began to kick the captured Naruto, who only disappeared in a puff of smoke. The three looked for Naruto, but could not find him.

"Up here!" yelled Naruto, holding a Rasenshuriken. He threw the attack at all three. The First reacted first, pressing his hands to the ground. Naruto landed and was shocked as water rose from the ground, turning the nearby grass brown. The water created a giant wall between the three kages and the Rasenshuriken. The water wall caught the Rasenshuriken, and held it until it finally dissipated. Naruto wasn't discouraged. He began creating his Planetary Rasengan, and attacked the three kages. The Second and Third were able to dodge, but the First was hit and disintegrated. One down and two to go.

Kari was shocked. How could someone possibly defeat one of the first three Mizuumikages. They were regarded as invincible in the Lake Village. Naruto was truly powerful.

The Second Mizuumikage was now forming his own hand signs. Liquid needles formed around him, and he sent them flying toward Naruto. Naruto managed to dodge most, but four had sliced through his leg muscles. His legs struggled to support his weight.

'I've got to hurry. This one's going to be tough. I need to use my new jutsu.'

Naruto began forming hand signs, and then charged toward the Second. Naruto suddenly disappeared, and reappeared directly in front of him, a white Rasengan now in his hand. Before the Second could react, Naruto slammed the attack into his gut. The Second had that same emotionless stare as he was thrown past Ken and into the side of the hill. When the dust cleared, all that was left was a shell of ice.

"How do you like that?" said Naruto in triumph.

"When did you learn Ice Style?" asked Ken.

"I invented it," replied Naruto. "Thanks to my Sage power, and the contract I signed with the Nine-Tails, I am able to use any of the five elements, even though it's limited."

"Impressive. Too bad you won't live to use it again. I can sense your chakra level. It's fairly low. There's no way you'll survive a fight with the Third. He was the strongest of the three. It's said that he can manipulate water just as the Kazekage does sand. This should be good."

The Third stepped forward, and an exhausted Naruto turned to face him. Ken was right. That Ice Style had taken a lot more out of him than he had anticipated. If he was to win this, he was going to need some more chakra. He knew that he would have to use his contract.

Naruto gathered his chakra and summoned three Shadow Clones, who stood next to Kari and began gathering Sage chakra. Next, he formed another set of seals, and immediately his eyes gained a vertical slit. His chakra also increased massively. He looked at the Third with his foxlike eyes, which told him that the Third was indeed able to manipulate the water. In this state, Naruto could see the chakra that the third was using. Naruto would have no trouble now.

Naruto formed a red Rasengan and lunged for the Third, who created a wall of water between Naruto and himself. This wall was sturdy, but it was no match for Naruto, who tore right through it. The Third nearly fell trying to jump back from the attack.

Once he regained his balance, the Third formed hand seals and created a giant hydra out of the water. The hydra shot a blast of water at the three clones, which were destroyed, and then it turned its spray toward the real Naruto. Naruto, using his foxlike reflexes, dodged the attack, and, using his Orange Flash Jutsu, a jutsu he created based on his father's Flying Thunder God Jutsu, he appeared to the left of the Third. Then he punched him with his increased strength. The Third was thrown, but he recovered, and used water to create full body armor. Now he looked like a night, fully dressed in a medieval suit of armor. He drew a sword that had formed at his side and lunged at Naruto. Naruto solidified the Nine Tails' chakra into a sword and blocked the attack. The two then began using a mix of taijutsu and kenjutsu. The Third quickly gained an advantage due to his reanimation, and Naruto had to withdraw. Suddenly, he was blasted in the side by the hydra's water spray. He careened into the hillside. He was in real trouble now.

Naruto glanced at his stinging wound. It appeared to have burned. Now the hydra had boiling water to spray. Naruto struggled to his feet, and decided he would use one last jutsu. He could end it with that jutsu, but it would cost a lot. He sighed. He had no choice. He formed his hand signs, and let his hands fall at his sides. Suddenly, he began to glow with a brilliant red light. He raised his hands to his stomach, and concentrated the power between his hands. The chakra formed a tiny orb the size of an orange. Naruto strained as the pressure around him increased. He had only used this jutsu once, in his fight with Sasuke. He managed a smirk, remembering how Sasuke had just barely survived, even with Susanoo. Naruto then released his control, and a gigantic beam flew from the orb. The beam was so strong, it disintegrated the Third Mizuumikage. Naruto immediately collapsed. Ken, who was far enough away from the jutsu to avoid it, smiled, knowing his victory was near. He stepped over to Naruto, sword drawn, preparing to end it, when suddenly, a wall of fire sprang up between them.

"Not so fast!" said Tai, jumping next to Naruto.

"It's about time!"

"Sorry, Teach. Those escorts had a couple of tricks, but we got'em!" Tai said with a grin and a thumbs-up.

"I'm just glad you made it in time."

"Right. So, you wanna fight?"

Ken smiled. "I'm no fool, boy. I can tell that you're strong, and as it is, I'm too weak from my summoning. Maybe another time."

With that said, Ken disappeared, his laugh echoing across the field.

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><p>So that's chapter 9. I don't know how many this story will have. I'm still working it out. I've actually planned up into the twenties, so there you go. Hopefully I'll be able to get those out soon. Until then, please read and review! See ya!<p> 


	11. Chapter 10: The Summit

I don't own Naruto!

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: The Summit<strong>

Naruto awoke in a white room. He looked around and noticed that he was alone. Instead of jumping out of bed like he used to he sent a small amount of chakra into every part of his body, feeling it out. He noticed that most of his wounds had healed, and all that was left was a few bruises. His chakra network was also strained, probably from the white Rasengan, which he had yet to name. He sat up and hung his feet off the bed. So far so good. He leaned out and put his feet on the floor. Slowly but surely he added weight until he was sure his legs could hold him. Then he stood, and walked to door. He moaned as his tired body fought to lie back down. Ever since he had sealed the Nine-Tails, he had lost some of his fast healing, unless he used the contract chakra.

Naruto opened the door and stepped out into the hall. The room was deserted save for a single Lake ANBU who had apparently been guarding his door. The ANBU was surprised to see him up, and stepped over to help him when Naruto nearly fell.

"Take me to my friends," said Naruto.

"Yes, sir."

They walked in silence toward the Mizuumikage's mansion. Once inside her office, they found a chair for Naruto, and began to discuss the happenings of what had been three days ago. Naruto had become a legend in the village over this time. No one could believe that this outsider had managed to defeat the strongest kages this village had ever seen. Kari then spoke about leaving for the summit. Shikamaru mentioned that it would take a week and a half to get to the summit from here, and they would need to leave tomorrow. Naruto agreed and they all left to prepare for the journey. Shikamaru and Tai left with Naruto.

"Naruto, Tai told me that you used the Nine-Tails."

"Yeah. I didn't have a choice. I had to face three kages, and I was out of chakra."

"Naruto, you need to be more careful. Even Sage Mode would have been better."

"What did you expect me to do? Stand there and get beat up so I could beat them up? I would have died before I got the chance."

"Naruto, I know, but you could have at least taken a team. Remember, it's a secret that you sealed the Nine-Tails away. If people start seeing you use its chakra, they'll start coming after you just like Akatsuki, and that's more of a pain than I care to deal with."

"Shikamaru, no one's going to come after me."

"Naruto, I wouldn't be so sure. Akatsuki was dumb enough before."

"Whatever, but I still think that we're safe since I only have a contract with the fox now."

"I think that your safe, too, but still, using the Nine-Tails' power could make enemies."

"Alright! I'll be more careful, but I don't see the big deal. I haven't accessed the true strength of the contract yet. To be honest, I don't want to. I guess I could create some Shadow clones that I could summon back to give me some Sage chakra."

"You do that," said Shikamaru, walking down the hall to his own room. Naruto went into his own, and Tai to his.

The group, along with Kari and her escort, made their way to the Leaf Alliance Summit. Naruto was particularly impatient, wanting to show off his new rank to Gaara. Shikamaru had been right. It took exactly a week and a half to get to the summit.

The other kages had all arrived and were preparing for the meeting to start. When it finally did, there was chaos across the room.

"They would dare to build an army against me?" cried Onoki.

"Building an army against you means they bring one against all of us!" cried A. "We must stomp out this rebellion!"

"I agree," said Tsunade, although no one heard her.

"ENOUGH!" cried Naruto. He was tired of all of the noise and wanted everyone to calm down.

"Thank you, Seventh Hokage," said Gaara.

"What is it?" said A.

"We need to discuss how we are to fight back. If they attack, we need to be ready to defend ourselves," said Tsunade.

"I agree, but what can we do?" asked A.

"Alliance ninjas from the Village Hidden in the Mountains, the Alliance base, can go to back up the western villages. The Leaf and Sand will work together against our enemies, for now."

Everyone agreed and began discussing tactics. Shikamaru was a major asset for this part, seeing as he was the most brilliant among them. After discussing tactics for eight hours, everyone retired to their quarters. Naruto lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He thought about the Nine-Tails. He had sealed it away, but he still had the contract, giving him immense power. He knew that A would want him to meet with Bee. Bee was incredible. He had risen to the rank directly below Raikage, captain of the ANBU, and was actually stronger than A. Bee was to be the next Raikage, and A would want Naruto to make sure that there were no problems with the Eight-Tails. Naruto had offered to seal the beast away, but Bee had refused. Bee still had the Eight-Tails to this day, and even though he had control, it was still dangerous. Naruto finally dozed off, and when Shikamaru came to speak with him, Naruto was snoring loudly. Naruto never was one for politics. Shikamaru sat down smiling, reminiscing about their first mission together.

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><p>Hey ya'll. This was chapter 10. I know there was a lot of talking here, but I plan on making things more exciting. Until then, please read and review. I plan on having chapter 15 up in the next two weeks, meaning that voting for Naruto's relationship will end. See ya!<p> 


	12. Chapter 11: How It Began

I don't own Naruto! Hey everyone! Just thought I'd go ahead and tell you that this is just backstory. This gives a little background into Shikamaru and Naruto and how their team started. I know that I haven't really stressed their teamwork yet, but I plan to in the future. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: How It Began<strong>

Shikamaru wasn't too happy at all. He was a jonin, yet he had been assigned a mission with an ANBU. He had no idea who the ANBU was, but he probably wouldn't like him. To think that Tsunade would send him on an S-rank mission with an ANBU! What was she thinking? Shikamaru didn't even go on A-rank missions anymore. He preferred to stay in his nice quiet village and stare at the clouds, but of course the village didn't agree with that. He sighed. Hopefully it wouldn't last too long. He only had to investigate the attempted assassination of the daimyo.

They left the next day, and the journey was quiet. Whoever this man was, codenamed "Fox," he didn't talk much. Only when they had reached the daimyo's castle did he speak.

"You can do the talking here, Shikamaru. I prefer not to deal with these types."

Shikamaru agreed, but what else could he do? He was a jonin, while this man was an ANBU. He was the leader. If he gave an order, Shikamaru had to accept. They entered the gate and met the daimyo's guards. They led them to the daimyo, where the two were informed of the mission.

The two of them were to work together to find out if the would-be assassin, now a prisoner, was working alone, and if not, they were to eliminate the threat. After telling them as much, the daimyo waved them off. Shikamaru could understand why the ANBU didn't want to talk to him.

The ANBU took point on the actual investigation. He interrogated the prisoner, from whom they learned that there was one more accomplice, and led the way to the hideout. They arrived at the hideout a couple of days later. The criminal was still in the hideout when they got there. The ANBU put together a plan and led Shikamaru into the compound.

The plan was good. When they reached the criminal, the ANBU would go alone. Shikamaru would wait until he was needed. The ANBU explained that Shikamaru was to use his Shadow Possession Jutsu after only a couple of minutes. Shikamaru was surprised that the ANBU already knew about his abilities. Even though he was a jonin, the ANBU could not have seen his files because he was a high level ninja in the village. The problem for Shikamaru was not the idea of using the jutsu, but how he was to use it. He would be unable to see what he had to attack. He would have to navigate the room without seeing the target, obstacles, or the ANBU, but the ANBU seemed to just know he could do it. Who was this guy?

The plan was executed perfectly. The target and the ANBU had a quick discussion, and Shikamaru hit him with the jutsu. They carried the man out of the small building and back toward the daimyo's castle. Midway, however, he managed to escape, wounding Shikamaru in the process. He had grabbed one of Shikamaru's kunai and had stabbed him in the shoulder. The wound wasn't serious, but it did grab Shikamaru's attention. Shikamaru dropped to his knee, clutching his wounded shoulder. At this point, the criminal was about to attack again. The knife plunged toward Shikamaru, when a strong hand grabbed the wrist of the assailant. Shikamaru looked up to see the ANBU holding the attacker's wrist. The attacker threw a punch at the ANBU, which cracked his mask. The mask fell from his face, revealing his identity to Shikamaru.

"Naruto?"

"What's up?" said Naruto, smiling.

The attacker came at Naruto now, but Naruto punched him in the gut, only to have him disappear.

"Substitution," said Naruto. Then, a cloud of smoke filled the area.

"He's going to attack," said Naruto.

As if on cue, the man stabbed for Shikamaru, but Naruto punched him in the face, dropping him to the ground. They arrested him once more and set off for the castle.

When they arrived, the daimyo didn't seem very happy at all.

"You were to deal with the threat, not bring him here."

"I didn't feel like killing him," replied Naruto.

"Well I guess your village won't get paid."

"Listen to me!" shouted Naruto, startling the daimyo and his guards. "You will pay the village, and you will get over yourself, or I'll unleash a beast on your country that will make the Nine-Tails look like a walk in the park."

"You dare threaten me?"

Naruto remained silent, but the look in his eye spoke volumes. 'Try me!'

The daimyo did something Shikamaru never thought he'd see. He cried. A thirty-eight year-old man was crying because Naruto had just threatened him. This would be the start of a great friendship.


	13. Chapter 12: Ambushed!

I don't own Naruto.

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: Ambushed!<strong>

Shikamaru smiled as he recalled the old days. He and Naruto had become great friends over the years, and Shikamaru didn't regret any of it. Shikamaru was thrown from his thoughts as an explosion shook the building. He ran out of the room and toward the source of the explosion. On the way, he met with some of Tsunade's ANBU and led them to the source. When they arrived, they were attacked by a large group of ninja. Shikamaru jumped away to find a clear area, followed by two enemy shinobi. When he made it to the courtyard, he turned to face his attackers.

One was wearing a standard ANBU outfit, with the odd addition of a hood. On his mask, Shikamaru recognized the symbol of the Weed Village, five lines with the outer left and right lines being curved like blades of grass, with all five lines connecting at the bottom. He was nearly six feet tall and appeared to be solid. The other appeared to be a jonin from the Rain Village. He was only about 5'9', and had spiky brown hair. Neither looked to be much of an opponent for Shikamaru. He sighed. No one ever wanted to do things the easy way.

The jonin threw his knives at Shikamaru, who simply knocked them away with his kunai. Shikamaru noticed that in that brief second, the ANBU had disappeared from sight, fading into the shadows. The jonin ran toward Shikamaru, forming hand signs as he prepared to attack. Shikamaru realized that they were the hand signs to perform Water Dragon Jutsu, a now common jutsu in the Rain Village. He finished the signs and a dragon of water rose from a nearby fountain. Shikamaru sighed. He hated dealing with this sort of thing. He jumped onto the dragon and ran on top of it, running the length of it to get to the jonin. Shikamaru was only four feet away when the ANBU reappeared, with what Shikamaru thought must have been a gigantic log growing from his arm. He swung the log toward Shikamaru, who jumped up and threw an exploding kunai into the man's vest. The tag went off, decapitating the ANBU and propelling Shikamaru behind the jonin. Shikamaru unleashed his Shadow Slash Jutsu. A guillotine of shadows rose from the ground, slicing the jonin in half. The two halves fell to the ground. Shikamaru yawned. He had expected more of a fight.

The kages had all met in the conference room, and their ANBU were reinforcing their position.

"We need more troops!" cried the Raikage.

"We don't have them! We'll have to hold our position until help arrives!" replied Tsunade.

"Where's Naruto?" asked Gaara.

"I don't know. He left his room after Shikamaru," said Tsunade.

"Temari, go find Shikamaru. Once you do, see if you can find Naruto. We need his help."

Temari nodded and followed Gaara's orders. She ran out of the room in search for Shikamaru.

Naruto stood on top of the summit building, his kunai aflame with the Nine-Tails chakra. It seemed more like a flaming sword with his power enveloping it. Another ninja jumped onto the roof, prepared to strike Naruto, but he flicked his sword and the man joined the other fifty already dead around him. Despite the workout, he wasn't even panting. None of the ninja appeared to be a real test, but then he felt something, something dark.

He scanned the horizon, looking for it, and then he found it. Out in the distance, a dark, sinister energy was gathering. This could not be good.

"Naruto!" said a familiar voice. Naruto turned to see Shikamaru coming up behind him. Temari soon followed.

"Shikamaru, what's up?"

"_What's up?_ You numbskull! Do you not realize we're being attacked!" Shikamaru glanced at all of the dead bodies. "What have you been doing?"

"Just getting a little exercise."

Temari looked awestruck at Naruto. How on earth did he do all of this?

"The rest of the kages want to see you," said Shikamaru.

"Good. I need to see them, too. Something's out there."

"What do you mean?"

"Something sinister, more evil than Sasuke ever was. I don't know what it is, but it's bad."

"Then we'll let the kages know and they can help you decide what to do."

"Right," said Naruto as they journeyed back down to the conference room.

"Naruto, that's crazy. You're not going alone!" cried Tsunade.

"Fine! I'll take Shikamaru with me!"

"It's still too dangerous!"

"C'mon, Granny!"

"NARUTO NAMIKAZE!" screamed Tsunade at his use of that nickname.

"Sorry, but I still want to go!"

"I'll go with him!" said Bee, who had been listening the entire time.

"No!" said A.

"If I go, we'll have twice the chances for success."

"Or twice the chance for failure!" said Onoki. "If we let the two of you loose on them, we may never even figure out what they want. You saw what Naruto did to the men on the roof. I'd like to at least kill one myself, and have one to interrogate later. Besides, you two numbskulls could very well get yourselves killed."

"We're a bit better than that!" said Naruto.

"I'm fine with it," said the Mizukage.

"I know that I am new to these meetings, but I also think we should let them go," said the Mizuumikage.

"Gaara, what do you think?" asked Tsunade.

"I believe we should let them go. If they did die, then we obviously wouldn't stand a chance anyway."

"Fine!" said Tsunade. "But I still don't like it!"

Naruto and Bee only grinned. Shikamaru cried on Temari's shoulder.

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><p>Okay, here's chapter 12. I hope to have 13 up next weekend. I hope you enjoy it. Review please, and dont forget to shoot me a review or message about whether Naruto should marry Sakura or not. See ya!<p> 


	14. Chapter 13: Darkness Rising

**I don't own Naruto, now enjoy.**

**Chapter 13: Darkness Rising!**

The next morning, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Bee ran across the battlefield, fast approaching the darkness Naruto had felt. They had brought a small team of ANBU to handle minor threats along the way. After they had been running for a mile, Naruto told them to stop, saying that he felt the darkness nearby.

Seconds later, a giant emerged from the trees. He must have been seven-and-a-half feet tall. He had black hair which reached down into his short, thick beard. He had brown eyes, and wore only a pair of worn pants. He was heavily muscled. Naruto had never seen someone so large. His size made Bee look like a child before him.

He turned toward them and laughed. "So this is all they send to fight me? Pathetic!" His voice was deep and rugged. Naruto looked at Bee, who appeared to be too stunned for words.

"I am the Seventh Hokage! You will surrender!"

The man laughed some more. "Right! And I'm the Queen of the Western Continent! You're just a boy! You can't be the Hokage!"

"What was that!" Naruto screamed.

"You heard me runt! Now go get the real Seventh Hokage! He is the only one who will be a match for me, Mammoth, master of the Ancient Taijutsu!"

At this, Shikamaru froze. "Naruto," he said, turning pale, "this guy can't be serious. The real Mammoth died hundreds of years ago. It's said that he was unstoppable. Imagine Lee with superpowers, and here you go. If he's serious, we're in trouble!"

Naruto glared at Mammoth, ready for a fight.

"Come, brat. Let us do battle! I can feel your energy rising. This will truly be a glorious display of my massive strength!"

Naruto looked bewildered at the statement, but it didn't last long as Bee pulled him away from Mammoth's attack. Naruto turned back to see the ground beneath Mammoth's fist shatter.

Mammoth rose and ran toward Naruto, his fist ready. Naruto jumped over the brute, creating a Shadow Clone in the process. The Shadow Clone appeared behind Mammoth, a Rasengan already forming. He slammed the attack into Mammoth's back, but Mammoth didn't even flinch. He spun and backhanded the clone into a tree. The clone disappeared, and Mammoth began to search for the now-missing Naruto. Naruto appeared from the side and rammed his fist into Mammoth's jaw. Mammoth's head didn't move. Instead, his hand latched onto Naruto's arm and he threw Naruto into the same tree his clone had hit. This time, the tree broke. Naruto got to his feet, but he was too slow, as Mammoth smashed his fist into Naruto's gut, breaking his ribs. Naruto fell to the ground, moaning in pain.

At this point, Shikamaru got involved. He reached his shadow under Mammoth, paralyzing him, but much to Shikamaru's surprise, Mammoth jerked his head to the side, and the jutsu was broken. He sprinted toward Shikamaru, but was blasted away by a lightning bolt from Bee. He crashed into a rock, and dust rose to cover the scene. When the dust cleared, Bee and Shikamaru were surprised to see that Mammoth was already gone. He suddenly appeared behind Bee, slamming his fists into the sides of Bee's head. Bee fell to the ground, unconscious. Now Mammoth set his sights on Shikamaru again. Shikamaru knew he didn't have time to play around. He formed a rapid succession of hand signs, and his shadow expanded to a three foot diameter.

"I summon you: Skrag of the Seven Shadow Beasts!" A dark, bird-like figure rose from the shadow. It rose into the sky, a thin tail of Shikamaru's shadow keeping it tethered. It lunged toward Mammoth, its intended prey.

Mammoth's eyes went wide. "You're one of those!" he said in astonishment as the bird-like shadow met him midway. He grunted as the impact took the air from his lungs. The bird retreated, landing inside Shikamaru's extended shadow. Mammoth rose, muttered something in a language Shikamaru didn't understand, and disappeared.

'Weird,' thought Shikamaru. "Skrag, return to your prison!" The shadow began to shrink as the bird fell down into its depths. Shikamaru collapsed to his knees as the jutsu was released. The jutsu had a terrible cost for him. He was now totally exhausted, on the verge of unconsciousness, and both of his friends were already there.

/

Shikamaru awoke to find Lady Tsunade looking him over. He looked to the side and noticed that he had apparently been brought back to the summit building. He looked to the window and saw that sunlight was now pouring in. At least he hadn't been out too long. When he voiced his observation to Tsunade, however, he learned that he had been out for about three days. The samurai had found Shikamaru and the others on the battlefield and brought them back to be healed. Naruto and Bee had woken up the same day. They had held off the enemy who finally left yesterday. Shikamaru was surprised to hear that they had managed to successfully defend themselves from Mammoth. Tsunade, however, informed him that no one had seen or heard from Mammoth since the fight. Even Naruto had been unable to detect him.

Shikamaru yawned and got out of bed. He rose to his feet unsteadily, but became sure of himself after his first step. He left the room and went to find Naruto, who was currently in a meeting with the other kages. When Shikamaru entered, everyone clapped for him, even the Raikage. Shikamaru acknowledged them with a nod and took his seat next to Naruto. They all began asking Shikamaru how he had defeated the terrible brute, but Shikamaru just shrugged.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," he told them after a few moments. They all smiled and continued the conversation. They were discussing the topic of what to do about the attack. The Raikage and Tsuchikage were adamant about a counterattack, but the Kazekage and Mizukage were not so enthused. Naruto seemed to be caught in the middle. He didn't really want to fight, but he saw no other option. Shikamaru told him that some kind of punishment was necessary. They could not let the deeds of the Rain and Weed go unpunished. The Alliance could not show weakness, and the Rain and Weed Villages were much smaller than the Leaf. Naruto finally agreed with the sentiments.

The Raikage would be in charge of the counterattack. He could lead a force against the two villages. He grinned when told to "teach them a lesson." He immediately left to meet with other villages in the Leaf Alliance to build an attack force. The Leaf Village and Sand Village both promised a hundred men each. The Raikage himself would give two hundred. Because of the Metal Villages, the Stone Village would not give any. The same would go for the Mist and Lake Villages. The Wave Village, a village in the Land of Waves agreed to send a hundred of their own ninja as well. Another fifty from the Village Hidden in the Dark, a village north of the Land of Waves cemented the force. The Raikage would then circle around to attack the Rain and Weed Villages.

In the meantime, the Leaf Village would put together a plan to attack the Sound Village. The Stone and Mist Villages would also plan to attack the Metal Villages. The remaining villages would prepare to meet with the counter-offensive.

Shikamaru was to be a key part in the tactics. He was to meet not only with the leaders of the Leaf to plan the attack on the Sound, but he also had to discuss preparations for the attack on the Weed and Rain Villages with the Raikage. He would even have to accompany the force to the attacks. After his campaign, he would return, and after the Leaf Village was prepared, he would go to the Stone Village and help with their plans. He was surprised to learn that he would not actually oversee the Leaf Village's attack.

The next day, the Raikage left, and the remaining kages met in the conference room one last time. They were discussing their future endeavors, when the doors slammed open. A man stepped into the room. He was a man of average height, and he was pretty slim. He had spiky black hair that reached to his shoulders. His eyes were green, and they had an aged look about them. Naruto knew that even though the man was young, maybe just a little older than himself, he had definitely seen his share of hardships. Naruto didn't think that the man appeared to be much, but he noticed that the other kages, besides Kari, had all calmed down since he entered.

The man moved to the end of the table and spoke with a calm voice. "Kages of the Leaf Alliance, as you probably already know, I am Zane, Grandmaster of the Eight Dragons. I am here to discuss with you a coming danger. The Darkness that the Dragon Monks fought so hard to keep imprisoned has escaped."

Tsunade gasped. "What? How did it escape?"

"I do not know, Tsunade, but it has. The monks have sent me to discuss the coming battle."

"How many?"

"All four. They are all loose. I heard that you've already met Mammoth."

"Even him?" asked Tsunade, who appeared to be turning pale.

"Yes."

"No. He was gone for good. Jiraiya made sure of that!"

"He did everything he could."

"What do we do?"

"Prepare yourselves. The end is coming. He will want to take his power back from those that ended his reign."

"Those items are too well-protected. Even with his power, there is no way he will manage to break through," said the Mizukage.

"It does not matter. He will go to any length to get what he wants. Much like Sasuke Uchiha."

"Master Zane, may I remind you that Uchiha's friend is here," said Onoki.

Zane turned to regard Onoki. "Where is he?"

Onoki and the others pointed to Naruto, who was still very confused, and he appeared to be slightly pained at the mention of Sasuke.

"Huh?"

"Forgive me, Naruto Namikaze. I spoke before I realized you were here."

"Who are you?" asked Naruto.

"As I said, I am Zane, Grandmaster of the Eight Dragons."

"Cool! What's that mean?"

"It means I am the Grandmaster of a temple that is only a three day journey east of here."

"You see, Naruto, Zane is the only one who mastered all jutsu based on the eight dragons, like the Water Dragon, Fire Dragon, and Mud Dragon. He mastered them all, and their derived jutsu."

"Wow! That's awesome! So who escaped?"

"A very evil man named Vallen. He is said to be unstoppable when he possesses all of his power."

"How do we stop him?"

"We must defeat him before he finds his five scrolls that are hidden in each of the five major villages."

"You really need to explain more."

"Very well. I will tell you the story, but I warn you, it will take a while."

"That's fine. Just hurry up. I'm anxious."

"It all started over two hundred years ago…"


	15. Chapter 14: History

****I don't own Naruto, now enjoy.****

**Chapter 14**

"I am unstoppable! No one can defeat me!" yelled Vallen from the top of the Village Hidden in the Dark's mansion as he swatted some of his black hair out of his seemingly chiseled face. He wore black armor with golden dragons inlaid. His long black hair reached down to his lower back, and his piercing blue eyes were alight with victory. He and his team, Mammoth, Zir, and Lady Death, had just decimated the entire military force of the village. He laughed as the few remaining survivors struggled to help each other to their feet. "End them, Lady Death."

Lady Death, a thin woman with white hair and red eyes smiled evilly, revealing her fangs. She would enjoy this. She seemingly disappeared, reappearing behind the five survivors. She took out a whip and slashed across the five of them. They fell to the ground, dead. Then she reappeared next to the rest of her team.

Vallen laughed again. The pinnacle of power was the Dark Village, and even it could not defeat him. Those pathetic newly-formed villages, such as the Leaf and Sand, could not even begin to match his current power. Already he had conquered every village that had stood in his way. The larger villages were obliterated. He stared out over the horizon, watching a large storm come in. When he looked again to where the survivors' bodies lay, he saw another man, uninjured, standing behind them. Vallen nodded to Zir, a short man with boyish features and short, thick, silver hair. Zir returned the nod, and pulled his goggles down over his brown eyes. He wore a black and gray jumpsuit. Zir moved to attack. 'This should be interesting,' thought Vallen.

He watched as the stranger caught Zir's fist. Vallen was surprised. Zir was by far the fastest in his group. The idea that some random stranger could catch a punch like that was intriguing. He continued watching as the stranger proceeded to break Zir's arm by hitting it only once. Zir jumped back, nursing his broken arm. Lady Death was next. She smiled as she charged the stranger, then struck the ground with her whip, propelling her into the air. The storm had moved in now, and as she jumped into the air, lightning struck her whip. She flicked her now more deadly weapon toward the man, but he caught it without flinching. The electricity seemed to be nullified by this man. Vallen knew that this was possible with an earth affinity, but still, something didn't seem right about the stranger. The stranger tugged on the whip, causing Lady Death to begin falling toward him. He caught her neck with his free left hand, then threw her aside into a nearby building.

Mammoth, enraged by the humiliating defeat dealt to his friends, formed hand signs and sent a wave of earth at the stranger, but it was useless. Seconds before impact, the wave stopped. Before Mammoth was entirely sure of what had happened, the stranger appeared in front him and punched him in the gut. Mammoth immediately fell into unconsciousness and flew into the same building as Lady Death. Vallen was impressed. Never had anyone defeated his associates so easily. He moved to meet the stranger.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Hashirama Senju. I am the First Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Vallen sneered at the mention of that pathetic village. How could one so strong come from a place so weak? He jumped into the air, forming hand signs. He put two fingers to his mouth and released a giant fireball. The First summoned a wall of water to protect himself. Vallen decided it would take more to defeat this man than a few fireballs. He began forming more hand signs, and suddenly, two large stone figures appeared on either side of him. Both looked like ANBU, but they were massive. Vallen then fired three air bullets straight at Hashirama, who summoned a wall of earth to protect himself. Vallen was ready for another defensive structure, sending his massive minions to attack. The two giants sprinted toward Hashirama, who was surprised at their speed. They came up around the wall and began to punch and kick Hashirama. Hashirama fought the two, but even though he could keep up with their moves, he knew that he would be no match if Vallen joined the fight. He quickly broke off the arms of one giant, and then summoned a wooden mallet to strike the other. As it flew off into the distance, Vallen became furious. He decided to use his special jutsu and finish Hashirama quickly.

He formed hand signs and shot a massive fireball into the sky. Then, forming more hand signs, he produced a powerful lightning bolt, sending it into the sky as well. The sky began to rumble so loud that it shook the ground. Vallen only smiled. Now, after forming more hand signs, he created a massive water dragon and fired it into the cloud. Hashirama, bewildered by the apparent waste of chakra, created a wooden spear on his right arm and charged toward Vallen. Vallen saw him coming and summoned three more stone ANBU to fight Hashirama. Hashirama fought with the stone creatures, which were stronger than those before them.

'He must be planning something,' thought Hashirama as he deflected a punch and kick from two of the ANBU. He continued fighting them for a few minutes, stealing glances at Vallen when he could.

Vallen was now firing a large air bullet into the sky. Finally, he launched a gigantic boulder into the sky. At this point, the stone ANBU disintegrated. Hashirama was breathing heavily. The fight with the stone giants had definitely drained him. He saw Vallen point into the sky, and Hashirama followed his finger. In the cloud where the five jutsu had been fired, Hashirama could see a giant ball of light.

"Well, First Hokage, today you will die by my hand. Feel my wrath. Release: Elemental Wrath Jutsu!"

"What!" cried Hashirama.

The sky rumbled, nearly causing Hashirama to lose his balance. Suddenly, from the cloud, a bolt of energy shot down toward him. Hashirama had never seen anything like it before. Around that single bolt of lightning were the other four jutsu. The water spiraled around it, carrying with it large fragments of rock. Intertwined with these were fire and wind. Hashirama was stunned. The sheer power from this attack would be devastating. He had nothing that could possibly protect him. He closed his eyes, waiting to be embraced by death, but it never came. He opened his eyes to find a Susanoo shielding him from the blast. The attack had cracked the Susanoo, but it was still intact. Hashirama turned to find Madara Uchiha reaching out to help him to his feet. He grasped Madara's hand and smiled as he rose.

"Thank you, Madara."

"You're welcome. As you know, you're only allowed to lose to me, Hashirama. I can't let you die here."

"I'm honored by your selfless loyalty to your Hokage," said Hashirama drily.

Madara just grinned.

"How dare you interrupt my fight!" cried Vallen.

"Man, this guy's annoying. Why haven't you shut him up yet, Hashirama?"

"I was just getting to that before he shot that jutsu my way."

"Excuses, excuses!" said Madara as he drew a sword from the scabbard on his back. He released Susanoo and disappeared. Vallen looked around for a moment, searching for any sign of Madara, but he just couldn't find him. He looked to Hashirama, who was performing hand signs. Then Vallen realized that it was all a trap. Madara was just distracting him while Hashirama prepared to use some jutsu. Vallen fired a water bullet at Hashirama, and Hashirama had to jump away, breaking the seals.

"Now, Madara!"

Had that been a trick, too? Madara reappeared behind Vallen and stabbed him with the sword. Vallen jerked his head around to catch a glimpse of Madara, but he was already gone. Vallen turned back to face Hashirama, and saw Madara standing behind him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"We've heard of your power, Vallen!" said Hashirama.

"Yeah," continued Madara. "We know that even the two of us together might have a bit of trouble with you, so we decided on a special way to defeat you."

"Which is?" he asked.

"A five-part seal."

Vallen's eyes grew wide. "No! You can't! It's impossible."

Hashirama continued, despite his protests. "You are very powerful. Alone, I would stand no chance, but that power comes from your ability to control all five elements perfectly. However, you will be nothing if I drain that power from you."

Vallen was shocked. This was in fact a very effective way of weakening him. But there was a flaw. "If you plan to take my power in five parts, you need five people to seal it in."

"Normally, yes," replied Madara. "But in this case, he can take your five affinities and seal them into different scrolls."

"Good job, Madara, getting your sword in. If it wasn't for that, I don't believe that my jutsu would be able to find him."

"What do you mean?" asked Vallen.

"I needed that sword to lock on to you. That's a chakra sword. Since I know the owner's chakra, it will be easy for me to lock on to it. Now, goodbye!" Hashirama released the jutsu, and Vallen began to glow. He jerked back, seemingly possessed. Suddenly, a stream of fire spewed from his mouth. Madara retrieved a scroll from his tool pack and held it out. Hashirama mentally directed the fire into the scroll. Madara glanced to Hashirama as the scroll closed. Sweat was already forming on his brow. Against a normal enemy, it would only be a one or two part seal, but in this case, it would be a five part seal, nearly impossible for any other ninja, but Madara knew that Hashirama could handle it. As Madara readied the next scroll, he noticed Hashirama struggling to keep the seal. Vallen's eyes jerked open, and a bolt of lightning shot out. The lightning flew into the scroll Madara was holding. Madara closed the scroll and readied the next. This process continued until all five elements had been sealed. Hashirama collapsed after the seal. Madara helped him up, and they waited until the Temple of the Eight Dragons' monks arrived. After their arrival, they decided to imprison Vallen and his minions inside of a special prison created by their master. He remained there for two hundred years.


	16. Chapter 15: Vallen vs Gaara

****I don't own Naruto, now enjoy.****

**Chapter 15**

Naruto was surprised. Never would he have thought that Madara and Hashirama would have worked together.

"So Vallen has returned?"

"Yes," said Zane. "Now that he has returned, he will stop at nothing until he has taken over the world."

"So what do we do?" asked Tsunade.

"First you must prepare for war. He has convinced the Sound and other villages to fight for him. Prepare your villages. Send messengers to intercept the Raikage. Hurry, we don't have long. Vallen is not patient."

With that, Zane left the room, along with many of the other kages. The only ones left were Naruto, Tsunade, Shikamaru, and Kari.

"Lady Tsunade," said Shikamaru. "Earlier in the conversation, you and Master Zane mentioned something about Jiraiya. Did he fight Vallen?"

"Yes and no. Vallen found a way out back when Jiraiya and I were younger. It was right after the Nine-Tails attacked. Vallen had sensed weakness. He somehow used a jutsu that allowed him to project himself from the prison, without truly leaving. Sort of like how the Nine-Tails was able to influence you, Naruto. He was planning to use his 'clone' to hunt down the five scrolls in the five major villages, but Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and I stopped him."

"Orochimaru?"

"Yes. We had no choice. Jiraiya and I weren't strong enough alone. We needed Orochimaru's help. Orochimaru decided that if he couldn't take over the world, he wasn't going to let Vallen do it. Even against his clone, which only had about a tenth of his power, the three of us barely stood a chance. We would have died, if it hadn't been for Sarutobi-sensei. He saved our lives. Even with his help, it was difficult."

"That was only a tenth of his power?" asked Shikamaru.

"Unfortunately."

"Alright!" said Naruto, fired up. "Let's go get ready. According to Zane, it won't be long until he comes to Leaf for one of the scrolls. By the way, which one do we have?"

"Fire. It was the strongest of Vallen's affinities because it was his first. Each of the other villages were given scrolls based on the basic chakra nature found in the village. The Mist has water, the Stone has earth, the Cloud has lightning, and the Sand has wind."

"So let's get going!"

"Alright. We'll discuss it with the other kages and leave in the morning."

"Fine," said Naruto. He wanted to leave now.

_Meanwhile, in the Sound Village…_

"Well, Master?"

"The time has come, Otokage. Our leader has commanded us to prepare for battle."

"Are you sure he can be trusted, sensei?"

"I do not know. Probably not, but that is nothing to worry about. When the time comes, we will take his power for ourselves. Then all will bow down to the might of the Sound Village. Prepare the army!"

"Yes, Master."

_Somewhere in the Land of Rice Patties…_

Vallen rose from his meditation. Lady Death noticed and walked over to him.

"Did Mammoth succeed?"

"No, he failed. He was stopped by one of the Shadow Beast."

"I see, and what of the Sound Village?"

"You were right. They plan to betray me. Fools. No one can control my chakra but me."

"Would you like me to destroy them?"

"No. They may still prove useful. They are leaving soon. We will meet them at the Sand. What have you found out about the Kazekage?"

"He's strong. He was once a jinchuriki. He carried Shikaku, but not anymore. He may be trouble."

"Even without my five affinities, I'm still stronger than Shikaku. Don't worry. Now go get Zir. We need to go."

"Yes, sir."

_The Sand Village, one week later…_

"Lord Kazekage, we are under attack!" said a young chunin to Gaara. They stood on the roof of the Kazekage's mansion.

Gaara sighed. "So the time has come. Very well. Defensive positions!"

In the village, the order was relayed, and the ninja began to jump into action. Explosions rocked the village. Thankfully, the citizens had already been evacuated. Gaara looked out over the chaos that now en enveloped the village, his village.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Hello, Vallen," said Gaara.

"Give me what I'm here for, and your village will be spared, assuming you swear loyalty to me."

"That will never happen."

"Oh, well. Worth a try, I guess."

Suddenly, sand rose up around Vallen. He expected this, however, and jumped away. He moved quickly, so fast that Gaara couldn't keep up. The sand moved to protect him, and barely stopped Vallen's fist.

"Hmm… I was under the impression that you no longer had the Shukaku."

"You are right. I don't."

"Interesting. Then how are you able to protect yourself with the sand?"

"My mother created this jutsu. She left this protection for me. It's her protection, not the Shukaku's."

"I see. Very well. I'll just have to work harder. I'm sure that your sand has no chance against my high-speed taijutsu!"

"Many have tried to move faster than my sand, but it is no use. You will fall, just as they have."

"We shall see!" said Vallen, charging toward Gaara. He began to strike the sand. He was moving so fast that it seemed to Gaara as if he struck the sand shield from every direction at once, but the shield had not yet failed.

Gaara decided that now was the time to begin the offensive. He created a rain of sand to fall onto the area, but Vallen dodged every strike. He then appeared behind Gaara, and threw a powerful right hook, which the sand intercepted. Gaara fired a blast of sand at the source of the impact, but it didn't matter. Vallen was too fast.

Gaara knew that eventually Vallen would have to slow down, but would that happen before or after he broke through the sand. Gaara debated what to do next. Against someone so fast, there would be little he could do. He decided he would have to trap Vallen. That would be the easiest way to win, but how could he do it. He had to plan.

Vallen continued to strike from random directions. He was barely winded even though he had been going at it for around ten minutes. Because of the advanced imprisoning jutsu used on him, his body had not fallen out of shape. He was still perfectly fit, and thanks to all of his training, his body was fully used to this kind of workout. He noticed that Gaara was deep in concentration. What was he planning?

Gaara's eyes jerked open. He had an idea. He used his chakra to manipulate a miniscule stream of sand out across the field. After two minutes passed, he had created a small film of sand on the rooftop behind him. It was only three feet wide and a foot long, but it would work. Now all he had to do was wait. Sooner or later, Vallen would step on the sand, which would grow to encase him. It was a special trap. The sand would encase Vallen, and create a sand coffin.

Vallen was completely unaware of the small area of sand. Even if he had noticed it, he would have believed it was stray sand from his pounding of the sand shield. He was shocked at the shield's resilience, but now he was noticing that it was weakening. A few more minutes, and he would break through. Would have, if it hadn't been for that step.

Gaara smiled as Vallen stepped into his trap. The sand immediately responded and moved to cover Vallen. Vallen glanced down when he felt the movement. He saw a small stream of sand wrapping around his leg. He tried to jerk away, but the sand held fast. More sand moved to encase him, and sealed him away inside a coffin.

"You shouldn't have come here, Vallen," said Gaara. "This will be the end of you! Sand Burial!"

The sand contracted, crushing Vallen. Bloody sand fell all around. Gaara sighed. He had been worried about the fight. He had heard of Vallen's skill, and he had wondered if Vallen would be too strong for him.

He opened his eyes, only to be struck from behind. Gaara was instantly paralyzed, and fell to his knees. His vision blurry, he struggled to turn around. Behind him stood Vallen, Mammoth, and Lady Death, who had delivered the blow.

"How?" he asked.

"Lord Kazekage, you didn't really believe that you could defeat me. A powerful attack, that Sand Coffin. I have no chakra to replace myself, so it very well could have killed me. Of course, thanks to the brutal punishment my body has been through in the past, I was able to survive. Just a few deep cuts. Nothing to worry about. Mammoth, secure our friend here. I don't want him causing trouble."

Suddenly, a puppet struck Mammoth from the side. Gaara recognized the puppet. Kankuro was standing over him, three puppets at the ready.

"Temari!" he ordered. "Get Gaara out of here! Take him somewhere safe. Don't worry! I'll be fine!"

As Temari scooped Gaara up, he saw Kankuro manipulating his puppets to take on the three enemies. Gaara felt a tear run down his cheek as he was carried away, having to watch as Kankuro was defeated.


	17. Chapter 16: Kayla

****I don't own Naruto, now enjoy.****

**Chapter 16:**

Shikamaru was worried. He had got to return to Leaf instead of going on that crazy campaign, but the news of war in the Sand worried him. Did Temari survive? They had received word only two days ago that the Sand had fallen, and there was no word on any of the Sand Siblings fate.

He walked to the gate of the Leaf and stared in the direction of the Sand. His thoughts were interrupted by a cough and crash. He looked around to see Temari carrying Gaara on her back. She looked pretty bad off, and not because she had just fallen out of a tree. She looked much worse than Gaara, who was unconscious. She had many cuts and bruises all down her arms and legs. Shikamaru ran over and hoisted the Kazekage onto one shoulder and Temari on the other. He ran for the hospital.

When he arrived, Sakura and Ino took the two from him and immediately went to work. Tsunade arrived a few minutes later and began to help. It was soon obvious that Gaara was fine. He had just been paralyzed by a shock to the nervous system. Tsunade quickly took care of that and joined Sakura and Ino with Temari. After a couple of hours, all three emerged from the room. Shikamaru could tell that it wasn't good. They told him that she had been attacked on the way here. Gaara had known that much. Tsunade told him that it was her determination that had allowed her to make it this far. There had been too much internal bleeding. Temari was dead.

Shikamaru left the hospital after that. He didn't know what to do. He and Temari had once been a couple, but that ended nearly a year ago. He wished there was something he could do. He walked to the training grounds and sat down under a large oak tree. He began to cry.

"What's up, Shadow Boy?"

Shikamaru looked up to see Kayla.

"Why are you crying?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Lady Tsunade spoke with me and let me go. As long as I agreed to have one of these." She held up her left arm. Shikamaru noticed one of Naruto's seals. It was one used to prevent any kind of chakra movement. Naruto had spent a few months perfecting it.

"But why are you here?"

"I thought I'd see if I could find you. No one's ever used a jutsu like yours before. What was it?"

"It's a special jutsu that allows me to summon the Seven Shadow Beasts. They were terrible creatures sealed by my family over a hundred years ago."

"Wow. So why were you crying? Are you some kind of baby?"

"No… I just lost a friend."

"Who was she?"

"How do you know it was a she?"

"You're crying. It's kind of obvious."

"Fine. She used to be my girlfriend."

"I see…"

"It's been a while though."

"I have a question, crybaby."

Shikamaru cringed at the nickname. "What?"

"Why did you just stare at me like that when you walked in to interrogate me?"

"Uhh… Well, uhh… you see… yeah!"

"I see. Meet me at that ramen bar near the gate at seven tonight. We can talk then, 'kay babe?"

"Huh?"

Kayla just rolled her eyes and kissed him on the cheek. After that, she walked away.

'What just happened?' thought Shikamaru.

"What a DRAG!" he yelled. Outside the fence that surrounded the training grounds, Kayla smiled. She had finally gotten her man.

_Flashback…_

"_You wanted to see me?" asked Lady Tsunade as she entered the room with two ANBU._

"_I want to join your village," replied Kayla._

"_Why?" asked Tsunade._

"_I, uhh, kind of had a change of heart."_

"_We'll see. You like Shikamaru don't you?"_

"_So that's his name. How'd you know?"_

"_Inoichi saw it when he entered your memory."_

"_Ohh."_

"_You'll be out by the end of the week, but you'll be given special seals on your wrists, and I'll have Ibiki and Inoichi check out this crush of yours."_

_End Flashback_

Kayla had passed the test, and now she had been released. She couldn't wait for tonight.

Okay I know that it's kinda odd, but I had to work this in for later. Sorry it was so lame. I'll make up for it soon!


	18. Chapter 17: Preparations

****I don't own Naruto, now enjoy.****

**Chapter 17**

Naruto was swamped with paperwork. He hated paperwork. All he had done all day was paperwork. And Tai had just brought him more paperwork. Sometimes he wished he had a fire nature just so he could burn it all up. He leaned back and sighed.

"Naruto-sensei, Gaara has woken up. He says he would like a word with you."

"Thanks, Tai, I'll get over to the hospital and see what's up."

Naruto left the office and walked over to the hospital. Normally, he would be escorted by ANBU, but he had sent them all on missions. Had Tsunade found out, she would have killed him. When he arrived at Gaara's room, he noticed the red-head was sitting up in a chair instead of a bed. He sat down on a nearby couch and greeted Gaara.

"Tai said you wanted to talk," Naruto said after the formalities were out of the way.

"Yes, as you already know, the Sand has fallen. I don't know how many of our men survived."

"Yeah, we have some men scouting the area, but we haven't found many."

"Naruto, I've never met someone like this. His chakra, as you know, is gone thanks to the First Hokage's seal, but his taijutsu was perfect. We fought for twenty minutes and he wasn't even sweating. I don't know if even Lee could match his taijutsu. It's even worse now that he has the Wind Scroll."

"We don't know that he has the Wind Scroll yet. They say that traps are always placed around them to guard them."

"Naruto, he defeated me. I'm not sure a trap will stop him."

"I know. I was just trying to help you feel better."

"I'll feel better when that slimeball is dead."

"I know how you feel. So where do you think he'll go next?"

"As much as I hate to say it, here. It would be easier for someone at his level to just walk right through the defenses. If he does come here, you'll have your hands full. That army that attacked the Sand was giant."

"Yeah, we know. Our scouts report shinobi from at least six villages. That could be trouble, and as much as we'd like to move shinobi from other villages to meet him, we can't. That would risk the safety of other villages, too."

"Well, you'll have my help at least."

"I'm glad. We'll need all the help we can get."

Naruto left after that, and it was only a few hours later that he received word that the army at the Sand Village had mobilized and was heading for the Leaf. Naruto immediately sprang into action. He gathered the war council and presented the situation. After only six minutes, which Naruto was sure set a record, the elders of the council had agreed to let Naruto do everything necessary to protect the village.

Naruto called the jonin to an emergency meeting. He instructed that half help to evacuate the villagers, and the other half help to prepare defenses. The White Ops were in charge of all ANBU forces. Yamato had even sent every available root operative into the village. The next few days were spent mobilizing the army and preparing for an attack. Naruto created several new tags that were to be placed strategically around the village. In the event that that part of the village was being overrun, the commander of that area would activate the seal, summoning a large group of battle-ready toads to defend their retreat.

Naruto also divided up the village into separate rings of defense. He decided to appoint three commanders to each ring. Since the attackers would come from the east, they built the army up at those points, but left enough troops in standby to go to any area that needed the help. Naruto sent Lee, Choji, and Guy out to the outer ring with a hundred shinobi each. In the second ring, Neji, Sai, and Hiashi Hyuga would lead fifty each. In the third ring, medic ninja would be strategically placed throughout, led by Sakura, Shino, Kiba, and Yamato. They would all have shinobi interspersed for defensive purposes. Finally, in the center, Naruto, Kakashi, Tai, and Shikamaru would keep the mansion safe, along with a force of sixty ANBU and jonin. Half of the chunin would also be combined into the defense of the village, since the villagers would not be in any real danger.

Finally, there was only one important matter to discuss. Naruto wanted to know where the Fire Scroll was. Tsunade was reluctant at first, but because Naruto was the Hokage, she told him. It was hidden in the catacombs beneath the mansion. Naruto nodded. He had heard about the catacombs, and knew that the First Hokage himself had built traps to protect the secret artifacts that were hidden down there.

Naruto took one last look at each of the village's defenses, then went to bed. He knew that soon there would be a big fight, and he knew that he would need all his strength. This man Vallen was responsible for the death of Temari, and most likely Kankuro. There was no way Naruto was going to let that happen here. He loved every member of this village. If Vallen was going to kill anyone here, he would have to go through Naruto Namikaze, Seventh Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.


	19. Chapter 18: Battle of the Leaf

****I don't own Naruto, now enjoy.****

**Chapter 18: Battle of the Leaf!**

Naruto awoke the next morning and went to the gates of the village. He knew that today, Vallen and his army would arrive. He knew that he would have to be prepared. He waited, sipping down some ramen as he watched for the enemy. Finally, he saw the first line emerge from the trees. He created two Shadow Clones to intercept them, then jumped away. He knew that the plan was for him to be back at the mansion, but he created the clones to see exactly what he was dealing with.

The clones charged into battle, slicing through anyone in their way. It was soon obvious that even though they were clones, no one was a match. Finally, the clones were defeated when five different ninja combined their jutsu to strike them. The clones disappeared in a puff of smoke, relaying the information to Naruto.

The army continued to flow in towards the gates, and Lee's men were already thinning. Guy had brought his own men into the fight, but it was rough. Lee didn't know how long they could hold on. Suddenly, a giant boulder-like object rolled in front of them, intercepting all of the enemy ninja. They jumped back to avoid the giant green object. Lee realized that this was Choji. Choji and his men had been stationed in another part of the village just in case, but now they were here. The fresh ninja began to slaughter the weakening enemy, but none could stop the four figures who flew overhead. They sprinted across the rooftops and into the second ring.

Neji reacted first, jumping up onto the rooftops to intercept his enemy. Before him was Vallen, Zir, Lady Death, and Mammoth.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"None of your business!" said Lady Death, flicking her whip at Neji. Neji moved to block it, but he was shocked and thrown from the rooftop. Sai caught him, but when they turned back to the group, they were gone. Sai and Neji were about to give chase, but they were caught up in a fight and couldn't give chase.

The third ring was already swamped with wounded, so no one noticed as Vallen and his men continued toward the mansion. Even if they had, he'd have killed them. This village would fall before him. They would regret the actions of the First Hokage.

As they entered the fourth ring, they were stopped by four ANBU. Vallen grinned at the opportunity to try out his wind powers. He formed hand signs and released his jutsu.

"Wind Style: Cyclonic Devastation Jutsu!"

The wind picked up, and debris was thrown through the area. The wind and debris sliced through the four ANBU. They were no match for Vallen. The four continued toward the mansion, unobstructed.

When they arrived at the mansion, they were confronted by Naruto, Kakashi, Tai, and Shikamaru. The time had come, and Naruto was ready.

_Meanwhile…_

Lee was in trouble. He had been stabbed by the enemy. Blood was gushing from the wound, and he knew that there was no way he would make it to the medics in time. He punched another ninja out of his way.

'So this is how it ends,' he thought. 'I can't believe that this has happened. Guy-sensei, I'm sorry.'

Lee collapsed, but before he hit the ground, he was caught by a man that he had seen before, at the summit. Then he realized, the man who had caught him…was Zane, Grandmaster of Eight Dragons. Lee watched through blurry eyes as Zane performed hand signs with one hand, creating a Water Dragon from a nearby pond. The dragon took out many of the enemies behind. Lee didn't see this part, however, since Zane had already taken off toward the medics. He was taking Lee for help.

/

Guy had seen what had happened to Lee, and he was now using the Eight Gates to attack every enemy in sight. The enemy began to run away at the sight of the glowing green Guy. He took out half of the force inside the village out, before releasing the jutsu and collapsing to the ground. He had spent all of his energy, but still more ninja poured in from over the walls. What could he do? He watched as a large man approached and stood over him. The man held a knife up, preparing to stab, but he suddenly collapsed to the ground, a sword in his back. Guy watched as a monk scooped him up, and carried him away.

/

Naruto sized up his opponents. He had never seen Vallen before, and he wasn't sure what to expect. Vallen wore his black and gold armor, and he truly appeared to be a masterful shinobi. Vallen grinned at the Orange Hokage. He had waited two hundred years for his revenge, and he was about to exact.

Without warning, the three who flanked the Hokage lunged forward, taking Mammoth, Lady Death, and Zir away to fight their own battles. Vallen smiled. He was really going to enjoy this.


	20. Chapter 19: Tai vs Lady Death

****I don't own Naruto, now enjoy.****

**Chapter 19: Tai vs. Lady Death**

The moment Vallen and his friends landed, Naruto's plan was initiated. Tai and the others were to immediately challenge a certain member of the group. Tai was to fight Lady Death. His mission was simple: lure her away from the others, and end her. Tai mentally prepared himself and charged her. He caught her off guard, slamming his fist into her face. She flew off toward the south part of the village. He followed.

Somewhere along the way, Lady Death recovered and poised herself to attack. Tai maneuvered around her, making sure she would follow. She did, and he led her to a secluded part near the south gate. Finally, he stopped.

"Well, you sure know how to keep a girl waiting."

"Sorry," Tai replied. "I was just following orders."

She glanced back to the mansion, barely visible so far away. "I see. Getting me away from the Hokage. No matter. I can handle you, then your Hokage."

"Confident, aren't we. You still have to go through me first."

"You're right. Don't worry. I'll make this quick."

With that, she sprang into action. Her hands flashed through her signs, and she created a bolt of lightning in her right hand. She threw it at Tai, who easily dodged, releasing a fireball of his own. Lady Death avoided the attack and took out her whip. She flicked it toward Tai, who caught it, but was instantly shocked by the whip.

"You see, Blondie, my whip has my chakra in it. Touching it like that will only result in you hurting yourself."

Tai grimaced as he tried to move his body. The electricity had done some real damage to his motor skills. He wasn't sure if he would be able to move correctly. He tested out moving his left arm to throw a kunai, but instead, his right arm moved. He tried to move his right arm back, and his left arm moved instead.

'Great, now is not the time for me to lose my ability to move,' he thought as he saw Lady Death moving in for the kill. She now had a knife in her free hand. She truly intended this to be over, but Tai wouldn't allow that. He sent chakra down to his feet, burning the ground beneath him. As Lady Death approached, she felt the heat, but didn't believe it to be of consequence. She was only four feet away. He would be dead soon.

Therein laid her mistake. Once she was inside the circle of heat, Tai let her have it. He unleashed his maximum power on the ground around him. The flames leapt up, licking Lady Death's boots. She jumped away, but not in time to save herself from the burns.

"How dare you!" she screamed.

Tai smirked. "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen."

This infuriated Lady Death, and she charged for his throat. At this point, Tai regained control of his body and created a Rasengan in his left hand.

"I really hate to do this," he said casually, "but I need to get back and help Naruto-sensei, so…bye!"

The Rasengan began to burn with golden flames as he moved to strike. He was creating his signature move. He ran for Lady Death, who was intrigued by this new jutsu. She flicked her whip to the ground, throwing herself into the air, then a lightning bolt fell from the heavens, striking her raised kunai. Tai halted and watched as the kunai seemed to extend, creating some kind of sword. Somehow, he knew that this would be trouble. His Rasengan was still ready in his hand, so he formed a hand sign with free hand. As he did, fire sprung forth from his feet, giving him enough thrust to soar into the air. Lady Death saw it and lunged with her blade. Tai extended his Rasengan and it met with her blade.

_BBBOOOOOMMMM!_

The resulting explosion rocked the village. Their jutsu had created a dramatic explosion that had leveled this part of the village. For fifty yards in all directions, the village was gone. Tai rose from the ground where he was embedded, a little disoriented. He staggered around for a moment, then searched for Lady Death.

Lady Death had survived the explosion, but just barely. She had never been wounded so badly. Who was this kid? How did he do all of this? Her jutsu was able to slice through anything, even chakra. What was going on? She got to her feet and saw that the boy had already risen. He didn't look so good, staggering around. 'Maybe I can win this,' she thought. She called her whip to her hand from a few feet away and flicked the weapon toward Tai.

Tai saw it coming, but he was too weak to get out of the way. He had never been in a position like this before. He had taken some hard hits, but none of them had left his body this weak. He racked his brain for ideas. There had to be some way for him to survive, but he could think of nothing. The whip struck home, sending Tai across the empty field, and embedding him in a nearby piece of rubble from a large building.

"You see, Blondie? This is my power. You were no match for me."

Tai grinned and detached himself from the stone. He formed a Rasengan, without the golden chakra, and charged for the woman once more.

"Pathetic!" she said, readying her whip. She was ready to strike, when Tai slammed the attack into her gut. She was sent spinning across the field, landing eighty feet away. She was furious. She rose, and began forming hand signs. Suddenly, the clouds above darkened, lightning flashed, and thunder roared.

Tai would have been impressed. Had she not been trying to kill him. She really was impressive. He had never thought she would get up after that last one, and now, here she was, preparing yet another destructive jutsu to take his life. He smiled. He knew how this would end.

He formed hand signs and placed his hand on the ground. "Aguni Clan Summoning: Great Molten Dragon!"

A giant claw emerged from the ground, followed by the giant molten dragon. Tai grinned. It wasn't often he got to use this dragon in a real fight. A giant bolt of lightning began to fall, ready to strike down Tai, but the dragon leapt above him, shielding him from the blast. The dragon took the hit, and then turned to regard Lady Death. It belched, and a giant fireball flew toward her. She was too weak to move after the jutsu, and was struck by the fireball full-on. She fell to ground, burning in the dragon's flame. Tai released the summoning, and the dragon returned to its home.

Lady Death wasn't moving. Smoke rose from her body, but somehow, Tai couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Unfortunately, he was right. Once more, Lady Death rose. Tai didn't understand. No one could have survived that attack, not even Naruto. Tai nearly puked as she turned what was left of her burnt face toward him. Were those…fangs! What was she?

Lady Death smiled. No one had ever seen her at this level before. She'd never needed to use it. She disappeared, and reappeared directly behind Tai. He tried to get away, but she was too fast as she dug her claws and teeth into him. When she did, he began to feel weak.

As he grew weaker, he began to be consumed by a genjutsu. He became distracted as he watched a beautiful woman, who seemed to be very familiar, gently stroke his spiky blonde hair. She was gorgeous. Whatever he wanted, she had. If he wanted her to be tall and blonde, she was. If he wanted her to be red-headed and short, she was. She leaned down and kissed him, but then he remembered. He was in a fight! He must be in a genjutsu.

Tai broke the genjutsu and freed himself of Lady Death's grasp. To his shock, her face had regenerated. More than that, her whole body seemed to be regenerating. She smiled at him with her now perfect face.

"How did you…What did you do?"

"Surprised, Blondie? Well you should be. Very few have ever seen me in this state. I'm perfect in this form. You can't stop me. Not now, not ever.

"But what did you do?"

"I stole your chakra and used it to regenerate. Quite simple really. I'm surprised you broke free before I could finish you off."

'I don't know what to do,' Tai thought. 'I'm practically out of chakra, and I don't think my body's up to taijutsu. I need to find a way to stop her. If only I could trick her somehow, like…. That's it! I can do this!'

"Sorry, Hun, but I've got a date with the Hokage, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be finishing off my snack!" She lunged forward and bit Tai once again.

He didn't struggle. He didn't even move. He just let her feast on his chakra. It was torture for him, being drained like this. It was like feeling every part of your body shrivel up and die. Finally, she was finished. She stepped away, licking her lips.

"That was pretty good. You were quite the appetizer. Too bad there aren't two of you. I guess that's the price you pay for a good—Aah!" She began to pull at her face, which had turned red. Tai watched weakly as the redness spread down through the rest of her pale body.

"You!" she spat. "What have you done to me?"

"I knew that I didn't have the strength left to win, so I let you drink my chakra, but not before I fused it with my golden chakra."

"What?"

"I combined the regular chakra you were drinking with my own golden chakra. My clan is the only one that can handle that chakra. It burns any others who have it. Sorry, but I guess you just ate your last meal!"

"No!" she screamed. "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You can't win! I won't let you!"

"Sorry, lady, but it's over," said Tai, forming one last hand sign, which caused Lady Death to explode.

The force of the blast knocked Tai to the ground. He lay there, waiting for the cold embrace of death to take him away from the pain of this world.

Sorry it took so long to repost. I've had a rough time the past few months. I've been sick and had writer's block. Talk about a combo. Anyway, I've posted 5 chapters in one night, so I hope that might make it up just a little bit. I'm trying to plan out the end of the story. Based on what happens later on, and whether or not I get 15 reviews when I do finish this story, I'll probably decide on whether there will be a sequel. Let me know what you think. Thanks, please R&R. See ya!


	21. Chapter 20: Shikamaru vs Zir

I don't own Naruto.

Hey guys, here's yet another installment. There's only about ten chapters left of the story. I hope you enjoy it.

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><p><strong>Chapter 20: Shikamaru vs. Zir pt. 1<strong>

Shikamaru had taken Zir to the western part of the village. Zir appeared to be oblivious to the fact that he had been lured here. He was just ready for a fight. He lowered his goggles and prepared to fight.

Shikamaru took the lead in the fight with an explosive kunai. Zir noticed the tag at the last second and jumped out of the way. The blast still caught him and threw him toward a building. He pulled out at the last second and rolled to his feet. He threw his own kunai toward Shikamaru, who summoned his shadow to catch the attack. A tendril rose up and grabbed the kunai from the air.

"Guess Mammoth was right. You are a shadow user. Doesn't matter. I can still take you on."

"Don't be too sure of yourself," replied Shikamaru, throwing a tendril out toward Zir, who jumped away from it. Little did Zir know, Shikamaru had already planned for that and sent his shadow out to catch Zir. When Zir landed, he was immediately paralyzed.

"What did you do?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"I caught you with my Shadow Possession Jutsu, or at least, my version of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, instead of making you do everything I do, I only paralyze you. Plus, it leaves you open for my next attack. Ninja Art: Shadow Puppetry Jutsu!"

Zir felt his entire body go numb and watched as his hands moved of their own accord. His left hand reached down, pulled a kunai from his pack, and held it up as if to stab him. Shikamaru formed another hand sign and Zir plunged the knife into his own heart. Shikamaru released the jutsu, and Zir's limp body fell to the ground. Shikamaru sighed. He expected more from his enemy.

Suddenly, a hand rose up from the ground Shikamaru. He was taken off-guard as a knife penetrated his flak jacket and pierced his back. Shikamaru fell to the ground, badly injured. He turned to see Zir, rising from the ground, unscathed.

"How are you still alive?" asked Shikamaru, pain evident in his voice.

"My ultimate jutsu, Life Clone Jutsu."

"What is that?"

"I take something, such as a plant or animal, or even another person, and use a jutsu that transforms them into me. They have my arsenal of jutsu, their own weapons, and everything. The only thing I give them is chakra. Quite useful."

"I can't believe I was fooled by a clone."

"Heh! Believe it."

"Too bad the same happened to you."

"What?" cried Zir, turning to Shikamaru, who was now gone.

"Over here," said Shikamaru, leaning against a nearby building.

"Interesting. A solid clone that can fight and sustain itself even upon injury. Very interesting, indeed. Similar to my Life Clone."

"Yeah. Now take this!" said Shikamaru, throwing a tagged kunai at Zir. Zir formed hand signs, and the knife spun in the air and launched itself toward Shikamaru. He released the explosion before it got to close.

"Fool me once, shame on you," said Zir. "Fool me twice, and I must be an idiot. You won't be hitting me with that again."

'So he has a jutsu that can reflect weapons back at me. That could be trouble."

"Tell me, shadow user, have you ever heard what I'm famous for?"

"What?"

"What I'm famous for? Have you ever heard?"

"I guess not…."

"I'm a master of genjutsu. Something you've been trapped in for the past few minutes."

"I would know if I were in a genjutsu."

"Not one of mine. This one is my best."

"And what is it?" asked Shikamaru, unconvinced.

"Great Nightmare: Cruel World Incarnate Jutsu!"

Shikamaru stumbled. That was the most powerful genjutsu ever created. It was used to kill entire armies. If he really was caught, then he was doomed.

"You're kidding. You expect me to believe that you've actually been able to use that jutsu?"

"I have. Want me to prove it?"

Shikamaru said nothing.

"Fine. I think I want a bowl of ramen." Suddenly, a bowl of ramen appeared in the air next to him. He casually sipped from the bowl, before he had another idea. "And here you go!"

The ground below Shikamaru instantly turned to noodles. They rose up and tied Shikamaru up. Shikamaru was speechless. The chances of him winning this battle were slim. This jutsu could only be learned by being put through it, but only one man had ever survived this jutsu, and he had gone insane. The only survivor…was Zir.

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><p>So as we near the end, I just want to let everyone know that I'm sorry it was so long since I posted. I started posting again this weekend, and I plan to finish this story soon. Until then, R&amp;R. See ya!<p> 


	22. Chapter 21: Shikamaru vs Zir part 2

**Okay, here's the second part of Shikamaru's fight. I hope you enjoy it. This one may be a little crazy, but it's difficult to get into Zir's head. Yes, he is absolutely insane. Some of this, including how Shikamaru escapes, is completely off the wall crazy. If you don't like nonsense, skip to the AN at the end of this chapter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 21: Shikamaru vs. Zir pt. 2<strong>

Shikamaru was officially having a bad day. First, he had been woken up from a wonderful nap to be told that the village was being invaded. Then, he had been told he had to fight some crazy kid. Finally, the crazy kid had trapped him in the most feared genjutsu of all time, and he acted like he had no idea how to use it. Yeah, Shikamaru's day could have been better.

Zir was in a world of his own. Literally since this genjutsu took place inside his mind. He was sipping a bowl of ramen that he said "tasted like rainbows."

Shikamaru was sure Zir must have lost his mind. Anyone who used a genjutsu like this and didn't use it to kill their victim immediately and preserve their chakra… well… they couldn't be sane. Shikamaru looked over at Zir, who appeared to be in a daze. Shikamaru racked his brain for an idea, any way to get out of this, but he'd tried to release the jutsu multiple times, but it didn't work. Zir's insane will was still holding fast to this jutsu.

Shikamaru had nothing. He was strong, but none of his jutsu would have the power to break through this genjutsu, and in this world, Zir was just too strong. Shikamaru decided that there was no way out except for Zir to release the jutsu. That's when it hit Shikamaru. There was a way. If he could convince Zir to release the jutsu, then Shikamaru could escape.

"Hey Zir!" said Shikamaru.

"I already told you! I'm not Zir anymore!" the maniac replied. "My name is Prince Underworld. If you can't call me that, then I'll just have to turn you into a squirrel."

Shikamaru sighed. He wondered if being a squirrel would possibly be better. He wouldn't have to deal with Zir, or Ino for that matter. Yeah, being a squirrel sounded like a good idea, but Naruto needed him. Another day perhaps. And what was with this guy? Shikamaru had never wanted to kill someone so badly.

"Whatever. Take this!" Shikamaru threw a kunai at Zir, who turned it into bubbles.

"I like bubbles!" he cried.

"Naruto just had to make me fight this guy. If I die, I'll kill him," Shikamaru muttered.

He pulled another explosive kunai and threw it. Zir made it explode in his face. Then, Zir summoned an explosive tag at Shikamaru's feet and caused it to explode. Then Shikamaru put his plan into action.

"OWWWWWW!" cried Shikamaru.

Zir ran over to check on him. "What's the matter?" he said innocently.

"Oww."

"I'm sorry. Here, I'll make you feel better." He formed a hand sign to heal Shikamaru. Shikamaru continued to moan.

"If that didn't work, then how can I make you feel better?"

Shikamaru wasn't sure what to say. He knew what he wanted, but he didn't want the kid to turn psycho. He decided anything would be better than this. "I need you to fight me like a real man and stop hiding behind an illusion. I want a real fight."

"Fine! If you think you can handle the real me, then I'll let you try. Release!" Zir formed a hand sign and released the jutsu.

Reality closed back in on Shikamaru, giving him a headache. Why had he been tortured like this? He decided that he would make Zir pay. Zir was over alone, seemingly returning to his own sanity. He formed a hand sign, and a giant spear rose from the ground. The spear flew toward Shikamaru, who summoned his shadow to protect himself. The shadow blocked the spear, but Shikamaru was unaware of the coming punch from Zir, which caught him in the left side of his face. He flew into a nearby building.

"Sorry about that," said Zir. "I usually don't let that side of me out. Don't worry though; I'll make sure you forget all about that insane jutsu!"

"No way. I won't lose. You're too dangerous to let go. I guess I'll show you what I showed your friend."

"Ahh yes. The Seven Shadow Beasts. Let's see them."

"You asked for it! I summon you: Skrag, Baurus, Titan, and Salamandus!"

"Four? You can't be serious! They'll devour us all."

"Don't worry," said Shikamaru. "They'll only devour you."

The four shadows rose and charged toward Zir. He was no match for them, and they picked him clean until only his bones were left.

Shikamaru felt his hatred subside. He dismissed the beasts, and sat on the ground. He knew one thing. He never wanted to be in a fight like that again.

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><p><strong>Shikamaru is incredibly powerful. Maybe in a future story I will explain where these beasts came from. They are supposed to be unbelievably powerful, and only the Nara clan can control them. You will never actually see all seven in this story though. Even Shikamaru can't control all seven. That's why there's such a fear associated with them. For those of you who skipped the nonsense, Shikamaru won! Please R&amp;R. See ya!<strong>


	23. Chapter 22: Kakashi vs Mammoth

**Chapter 22: Kakashi vs. Mammoth!**

Mammoth was fast. Kakashi had barely had time to react to any of his jutsu. Even with the Sharingan, he was struggling to be able to follow all of Mammoth's attacks. He had been beat up pretty badly. His left arm had a cut and was bleeding profusely, the result of a lightning blade that Mammoth had deflected. Kakashi wasn't sure what he could do to slow Mammoth down. He needed to find some way that Mammoth would not be able to recognize.

Mammoth closed in for a punch. Kakashi replaced himself with a Lightning Clone, which took the hit. Mammoth was thrown by the explosion when his fist made contact. He tried to get up, but he was still paralyzed from the jutsu. Kakashi now had an advantage. He closed in with a Lightning Blade, striking Mammoth in the heart. He withdrew his arm, only to notice that the giant hole he had made in Mammoth's chest was already healing up.

"What?"

"Heh heh. Sorry, but that won't work on me. As long as I have chakra, my body will continue to heal itself."

"Then I'll just have to run it down."

"Good luck with that."

Kakashi blasted Mammoth with a fireball, but Mammoth had regained his movement and dodged it. He countered by kicking Kakashi in the face. Kakashi flew into a nearby building. He got up rubbing his back. He really was too old for this. He formed hand signs and sent his Lightning Beast Running jutsu straight at Mammoth, who slapped the beast aside.

Kakashi knew this would be trouble. He had tried to find some kind of opening, but because of Mammoth's size and skill, he had failed. He had used some of his best jutsu, minus his Sharingan powers, early on, trying to find some opening, but all to no avail. He decided he would have to use his new jutsu if he wanted to survive. He activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Take this! Amaterasu: Kakashi Style!"

Immediately, a beam of black fire erupted from his eye. The beam struck Mammoth and knocked him back. He was severely burned. Kakashi collapsed after using his most powerful jutsu. His strength and chakra were gone, poured into that last attack. If Mammoth were to get up from that, it would truly be over. He watched Mammoth, whose body was still smoking. He waited for some type of movement, but saw none.

After two minutes, Mammoth's body finished healing, and he struggled to get up. His body was healed, but he could tell that another blast like that would end him. He got to his feet and stared down Kakashi, who was on the verge of unconsciousness. Kakashi stared back. Mammoth smiled. He knew Kakashi had lost. He moved in for the kill, only to be swept away by a giant Water Dragon.

Kakashi was awestruck. Who could have saved him? No one else in the Leaf knew that jutsu. He watched as Mammoth rose once more. What would it take to kill this guy?

Then, Zane appeared before him. Zane wore his brown monk robes, but with a dark gold cloak over it. He removed these to reveal a skin tight black suit, much like ninja wore, only tighter, and without a jacket. Zane's eyes showed his determination, and his contempt for Mammoth and his allies. Mammoth only smiled.

"Finally," he said. "A real challenge."

"You will die today, Mammoth," replied Zane.

"No. It is you who will die."

"We shall see."

Mammoth ran at Zane, who stood perfectly still. Mammoth raised his fist to punch Zane in the face. He swung for Zane, who disappeared. He reappeared behind Mammoth, a longsword in his hand. He slashed it across Mammoth's back. The gash immediately healed. Mammoth backhanded Zane into a building.

Immediately, out of the smoke, four dragons, one fire, one water, one mud, and one sand, flew out to fight in his place. The four dragons crunched and tackled Mammoth, who appeared to be keeping up just fine. Zane was now on his feet, watching as his dragons worked away at his opponent. Mammoth had defeated the fire dragon and was now facing the other three. Zane began forming hand signs for another jutsu. Once he finished, his left hand began to glow, each of the fingers forming dragons. He ran toward Mammoth, who was still preoccupied. Zane moved in, weaving around the dragons, and struck Mammoth in the face with his glowing hand.

Mammoth screamed in pain and tried to pry Zane's fingers from his face, but it was no use. Smoke was now rising from Mammoth's face. Zane threw Mammoth to the side. Mammoth didn't move. It didn't matter how much he tried to heal himself. It would never work. That was Zane's power. He had used a special jutsu that had irreparably burned Mammoth's face and his chakra network. He only had one more mission…to take down Vallen.


	24. Chapter 23: Naruto vs Vallen

**Chapter 23: Naruto vs. Vallen**

Naruto glared at Vallen. Vallen had destroyed the Sand Village, Gaara's village, only to get his hands on his power. Now he wanted to do the same to Naruto's village, and Naruto wouldn't let that happen.

"I have a proposition for you, Hokage," said Vallen. "You give me what I want and I promise your village will not be destroyed, as long as you swear loyalty to me."

"I will never make a deal with the likes of you. You can forget about your chakra, too. There's no way in the world you're going to get your hands on it."

"Well," Vallen sighed. "I tried the easy way. Now I'll just have to do it the hard way. Wind Style: Air Bullet Jutsu!"

Vallen puffed his chest and exhaled a massive blast of air. Naruto jumped out of the way and formed a Rasengan in his hand. Vallen stared at the attack, as if uncertain of its origin. Naruto suddenly vanished, but he appeared in front of Vallen and slammed the Rasengan into his gut. Vallen was sent spiraling into a nearby building.

Naruto smirked. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Vallen emerged from the crater his body had formed in the building. He was no longer puzzled.

"I knew I had seen that jutsu before. A man named Jiraiya used it. Did he teach it to you?"

Naruto said nothing.

"No answer, huh? Okay, so no talking then. Guess I'll just kill you." Vallen pulled a kunai from his pack and charged toward Naruto. Naruto pulled his own kunai and moved to meet Vallen. Their kunai clashed with a resounding ring. The two immediately broke apart. Naruto formed a Rasengan, while Vallen was doing hand signs. Naruto charged at Vallen, who finished his hand signs and sent a beam of air at Naruto. Naruto teleported away and appeared to Vallen's side. Vallen was surprised. How did he do that?

Naruto slammed the attack into Vallen's face, only for Vallen to vanish in a puff of smoke. Naruto realized that this was a Shadow Clone and then began searching for the real. As Naruto turned to look around, he noticed that there were now twelve Shadow Clones coming after him. He formed his own Shadow Clones to match Vallen's. The clones began to melee each other and after a few minutes, all were gone. The real Naruto continued to search for the real Vallen, but to no avail.

"Wind Style: Typhoon Devastation Jutsu!"

Naruto turned behind him in the direction of the voice as a giant typhoon touched down. He ran to avoid it, but he couldn't get away. The typhoon sucked him up and spun him around. Naruto had an idea and immediately summoned thirty Shadow Clones around the area. Each clone emitted chakra as if it were forming a massive Rasengan. The chakra spun opposite the typhoon, weakening it. The typhoon soon disappeared, and Naruto landed on the ground on his feet. Then he sent his clones out to find Vallen. It wasn't long before they found him. Vallen took his kunai and began to chop through each and every clone in his path. What surprised Naruto was that, even if the clone was six feet away, Vallen was still defeating it. It was as if the kunai had become a massive sword. Then Naruto realized the truth. Vallen was using his wind chakra to extend his weapon, much like Asuma had.

Vallen had defeated all of the clones, and he charged toward Naruto with a look of determination. Naruto decided it was time to end this. He formed hand signs and sent a multitude of leaf shuriken at Vallen, who used his enhanced kunai to slice them out of the air. Naruto had used the spare time to create a Rasenshuriken, which he now threw at Vallen. Vallen threw his kunai into the ground and stuck his palms forward to intercept the attack. Naruto frowned. What was he thinking?

The jutsu struck Vallen's extended palms, but instead of exploding, it was sucked into his body.

"What?" cried Naruto.

"You fool," said Vallen. "You used a wind-style jutsu on me. I have only wind-type chakra. That's the one kind of jutsu I can absorb." Vallen began to laugh.

Vallen was now bored with Naruto. That last mistake had taken all of the fun out of the fight. Vallen was ready to get his chakra. He picked a special jutsu from his arsenal and began forming hand signs. Naruto caught the movement and created a Rasengan, intent on stopping Vallen from using the jutsu, but Naruto was too slow. The moment he had formed the Rasengan, Vallen finished his hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Cloud Spear!"

The clouds above now began to move together and condense. The clouds moved and shaped themselves as a giant spear. The spear was pointed straight at Naruto. Vallen raised his hand into the air and moved as if he were throwing a spear. The clouds responded to his movement and flew toward Naruto, but Naruto already had a plan. He waited until the spear was only a few feet away, then he flashed away from the attack, reappearing before Vallen, and slamming the Rasengan into his gut.

However, instead of flying away, Vallen stood there, taking the attack. Surprised, Naruto looked down to see that Vallen had constructed armor out of air. Naruto's Rasengan had never actually touched Vallen. Vallen grinned, then pulled a kunai from his pack. Naruto immediately cut the Rasengan and tried to move, but something was holding him. He turned to see that the clouds had formed some type of clone and were gripping him tightly. He turned back to Vallen, who was now preparing to dig the kunai into Naruto's heart.

Naruto decided the only thing he could do was stand completely still, and wait for the attack. He waited, and allowed the chakra of nature to flow into him. He felt himself grow stronger, and become one with nature. He could feel those around him. He could feel Kakashi, who was being helped by Zane. He felt Shikamaru, who was currently unconscious and fading fast. He tried, but he could barely feel Tai, which worried him. Mammoth, Zir, and Lady Death were all dead.

Naruto felt an impact on his chest, and when he opened his eyes he saw that the kunai had broken. Naruto's chest, however, was unscathed.

"You!" spat Vallen. "You are one of that old fool Jiraiya's apprentices. I'll kill you!"

Naruto was surprised. Why did Vallen get so mad when he saw Sage mode? Vallen was now forming hand signs. He had to get free of this clone. He suddenly had an idea. He concentrated hard. He envisioned a Shadow Clone forming behind him, and it did. The clone slammed a Rasengan into the back of the Cloud Clone, destroying it. Now Naruto could take down Vallen. He used his Orange Flash Jutsu to appear before Vallen, who had raised his arms into the air.

"You think you're so strong? Now witness my power as I obliterate this puny village!"

Suddenly, Naruto felt sick. He was so close to Vallen. One more step and he could kill him, but something was wrong. Naruto slowly turned to see that at least a hundred twisters were about to touch down on the village. Even with an army of his Shadow Clones, there was nothing Naruto could do to stop it.

"Ultimate Jutsu: Nature's Wrath: Winds of Destruction!"

The twisters touched down. The sick feeling Naruto had grew worse. He watched as his village was devastated. There was nothing he could do. How had this happened? This was his village. He had sworn to protect it. Now, he had failed.

Naruto jerked around toward Vallen, allowing the Nine-Tails chakra he had kept to seep in. His eyes now reflected the mixture of Sage and Nine-Tails chakras. He formed a massive Odama Rasengan in his right hand and used his Orange Flash Jutsu to get in behind Vallen. Vallen was not expecting this, and was unable to defend himself as Naruto slammed his supercharged Rasengan into his back. He was immediately thrown into a nearby pile of rubble.

Vallen was angry now, and began to form more hand signs. Naruto glared as the clouds responded to his jutsu. The clouds enclosed Vallen and created armor. Vallen now appeared to be a massive warrior. His size was greater than that of Mammoth. Vallen formed a cloud sword and charged at Naruto.

Naruto, fueled by his anger, unleashed a jutsu he had promised to never use.

"Forbidden Jutsu: Ultimate Nine-Tails Devastation!"

Naruto immediately began to glow red with chakra. First, one tail grew from his back; then another, and another.

Vallen had now stopped his charge. He was confused by this jutsu. He felt a sinister force coming from Naruto. What was happening?

Naruto now had four tails, and a fifth was forming. He roared at Vallen. Vallen noted that it sounded as if a beast were taking over. A beast that was in immense pain. He didn't know what was happening, but he had to stop it. He continued his charge toward Naruto, who was now forming a seventh tail.

Vallen grinned inside his armor as he approached. A few more steps and the beast would die.

_!_

Vallen's armor was disintegrated and he was thrown as an explosion rocked the area. Vallen had used the wind to cushion his fall, and he glared through the smoke to see what had happened to Naruto.

Through the smoke, he saw the silhouette of something massive. Nine tails were now swaying in the air, and it had glowing red eyes. Vallen wasn't sure what to call this feeling that was now rising up in him. He had only felt it once before, when Hashirama was sealing him away. Finally, the word came to him. He was afraid.


	25. Chapter 24: Naruto's Forbidden Jutsu

**Chapter 24: Naruto's Forbidden Jutsu**

"_Naruto!"_

_The beast looked around, searching for the origin of the scream. Finally it saw her. The creature that had been screaming for so long. She would die. There was no forgiveness for her pathetic screaming. The beast bared its fangs at the girl, but she didn't move. There was determination in those green eyes, and the beast hated it. The girl had a kunai in her hand, but she didn't move. She held it in a defensive position at her waist. _

_The beast reared onto its hind legs and swiped at the girl. She was thrown into a nearby building, unable to move._

"_That's enough, Naruto!"_

_Another pathetic human dared to speak. The beast turned to find the source. This one had spiky silver hair. It also had that despicable Sharingan in one eye. For just carrying that foul disease it should die. The beast swiped its red claw at him, but a wall of wood sprang up to defend him. The beast's claw sliced through the wood, but the man was still alive. Another joined him now, and this one smelled faintly of the First Hokage, that cursed fool. The beast flicked one of its tails at the two, but both dodged out of the way. The beast was furious now. How dare they try to oppose him!_

"_Naruto, listen to me! You would never hurt Sakura! Never!"_

_Something bubbled inside the beast. What was this feeling? It was like immense anger and sorrow. Was this the boy? Suddenly, the beast felt its grip slipping away, and it knew that it was too late to hold on._

_Naruto regained consciousness. He was in Sakura's arms. She was bleeding pretty bad from a gash on her head, but she was still healing him. Kakashi was standing over them._

"_W-What happened?" Naruto asked._

"_You lost control. That jutsu is way too much for you," said Kakashi._

"_I did this to you?" asked Naruto to Sakura._

"_Yeah, but I'll be okay."_

_Naruto held back tears. "Never again. I will never use that jutsu again!"_

_End flashback_

Vallen stared into the eyes of the beast. It seemed full of nothing but hate. Had this been the same boy that had faced him only moments ago?

The fox jumped into the air, landing above Vallen. It swiped its massive claw at him, knocking him away like a pebble. Then the beast sent all nine of its tails after Vallen. They wrapped around him and threw him into another building. Vallen had never fought something so massive.

The beast fired a blast of chakra at Vallen, who narrowly avoided it. He fired his own air bullet back, but the fox wasn't even fazed. It jumped directly above him and roared. The sound was terrible. In all his years, Vallen had never heard something so evil. It was the sound of every person he'd ever tortured screaming, times a thousand. There was no one who could defeat this. The fox swiped its claw again, knocking Vallen into a pile of rubble.

The beast roared again as two of its tails flew out to grab Vallen. Vallen was paralyzed by fear as the tails wrapped around him. The fox brought him close, a massive beam of chakra already forming in its mouth. The fox was ready to let loose the blast, but stopped, and dropped Vallen.

Vallen was shocked as the red chakra that covered the beast began to recede. After a few minutes, all that remained was Naruto, but something was different about him. He wasn't the same as before. Naruto landed on the ground, sending cracks in all directions as if he weighed a ton. Vallen now realized that there was only one way to win. He looked to left, and noticed a young kunoichi lying on the ground. She was in pain, but she was still breathing. Vallen ran over and picked her up, holding her with a knife to her throat. The girl moaned in pain.

Vallen motioned at the girl's throat. "I will kill her."

Naruto stood motionless, unsure of what to do. Finally, he came to a decision. He charged a Rasengan and disappeared, reappearing behind Vallen. Vallen expected this, however, and immediately slit the girl's throat. Naruto slammed the attack into Vallen, who was thrown nearly eighty yards away.

Naruto looked at the girl, and realized that his reckless move had just killed someone. He had just killed Tenten. Naruto wanted to make Vallen pay. He wanted to slaughter Vallen. He wanted that man to weep before him. But he couldn't move. His body was completely frozen. Something in his mind wasn't allowing him to move away from this scene. His actions had just resulted in the death of one of the Leaf Eleven. How many more would he kill?

Vallen, seizing this moment of opportunity, called in reinforcements to help him. Naruto saw the massive army coming toward him and realized that the Leaf was lost. He had tried to protect it, but he had failed. This army was massive. Even with his help, there was no way that what was left of his own army would be able to drive them out. Naruto did the only thing he could. He ran.

Vallen got to his feet and laughed as the Orange Hokage disappeared. He now had the Leaf Village. He had repaid Hashirama for the cruel act he had committed, and now, he would rule the world.

Naruto ran into the forest on the west side of the Leaf. He was crying. He couldn't believe what had happened. It was all his fault. He was an idiot. He never should have used that jutsu. He couldn't believe that he had even managed to rein it back in when he did. He promised that he would never let that power out again, but he had. Why? Why was he so stupid?

Naruto continued to run. He sensed the presence of a few ANBU, but they said nothing. Naruto didn't want to say anything. There was nothing to say. He had lost. Vallen had won. As the group headed for the Stone Village, one thing dominated Naruto's mind. Next time he fought, Vallen would die. Regardless of whether or not Naruto lived, Vallen would die.


	26. Chapter 25: Vallen's New Plan

**Chapter 25: Vallen's New Plan!**

"Who was he?" demanded Vallen.

"He was Naruto Namikaze, Master."

"That's not good enough, Otokage. Where did he get his power?"

"No one really knows. It's all a legend."

"A legend?"

"Yes. They say that he is the son of the Fourth Hokage. We are sure of that much."

"Why do I care?"

"The Fourth Hokage was considered a genius, sir. He mastered jutsu that most men could only dream about. He also created a sealing jutsu. It was the first fully successful seal in the Leaf Village since the First Hokage."

"What happened to him?"

"He died protecting the village from the Nine-Tailed Fox. It's now widely known that he sealed the fox into Naruto Namikaze. The boy was a jinchuriki."

"Was?"

"Yes, sir. He created a jutsu that allowed him to be rid of the beast, but keep a contract with it. We assume that that's where he got the power he used against you."

"No. There was something else. It was as if nature itself sided with the boy. I know he was trained by Jiraiya, but that doesn't account for it. He was on a completely different level. Had I fought that boy instead of Jiraiya back then, I would never have lasted as long as I did. Jiraiya was different. He was…incomplete. That boy seems to have completed the thing that Jiraiya could not. He truly is a threat. I need to know his history. Now!"

The Otokage told Vallen everything they knew about Naruto. It was nearly midnight before Vallen said anything, even though it was finished by nine. Finally, Vallen came to a decision.

"Bring me Ken. I'll also need your eyes, Otokage."

"My eyes! But Sir!"

The man got no farther as a knife slammed into his chest. Vallen rose and pulled the eyes out of the Carnivore's head. He would no longer need them. Vallen smiled as he examined the two eyes.

"Well, Naruto Namikaze. If some girl from your genin years does that much damage, then let's see what this will do!"

_The next evening…_

"What do you mean?" screamed Vallen.

"I mean, I can't make it permanent," replied Ken nervously.

"You fool! Show me the jutsu. I'll figure it out!"

"Sir, you can't learn it by just watching. You can only learn it from one who already knows the jutsu."

"Show me!"

"Yes, sir."

Vallen smiled as Ken formed the hand signs and released the jutsu. This would indeed be quite interesting, but he would have to tweak it a little. The fact that the jutsu was not permanent made things quite difficult. Then, Vallen had to deal with the lack of real emotions. The jutsu would not work now, but after a couple of days in Vallen's hands, it would be perfect. Naruto Namikaze would die by the hand of one who he would never forget.

_In the Stone Village…_

Naruto was tired. He hadn't gotten much rest since his fight with Vallen. Most of his time had been spent trying to convince Onoki to agree to return to the Leaf with an army and retake the village. Onoki had refused. His village was in danger, and Naruto couldn't really blame him. He would do the same if it were his own village.

Meanwhile, Tai and the others were still recovering. Zane and Kakashi had brought Tai back with them, and he had been in critical condition for most of their stay.

Time passed slowly as Naruto regained his strength. He had been working on a different type of jutsu that had required a lot of Shadow Clones, and he was glad for the time to finish it. It had been two months since the Leaf was attacked, and now the Stone was prepared for war. Many ninja from other villages had come to help defend the Stone. Naruto and his men gathered a large force and began to prepare them. One day, however, their preparation was cut short. A giant explosion rocked the Stone. Vallen had finally arrived.


	27. Chapter 26: YOU?

**Chapter 26: YOU!**

Vallen was pleased. He had mastered the jutsu and was now attacking the Stone. Rocks flew all around as explosive jutsu detonated. He had already sent the others off to fight, with the exception that they could not touch the Hokage. Naruto was his. He walked through the exploding streets, calm and collected. This would be a great moment in history. Today was the day that he secured victory.

He watched his surroundings as ninja after ninja fell before his army. Sand, Leaf, Sound, and Stone ninja all battled. They all died. The sound of their cries was like music to his ears. Vallen had been born for war. He knew that no matter who would fight him, he would win.

As he strode up the street, he noticed a single shinobi standing before him. This shinobi was blonde and had a red robe around them. They also had a large scroll on their back. This man was Naruto Namikaze. Vallen smiled.

"Hokage, so good to see you again. How do you like my art?" he asked, gesturing to the widespread ruin around him.

"You…"

"What's the matter? Can't find the words to say?"

"I'll destroy you here and now! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Immediately, nine Shadow Clones appeared around Naruto.

"It doesn't matter how many clones you summon, I'll still win."

To Vallen's surprise, however, Naruto began forming more hand signs. As he did, the clones began to glow. Vallen did not like where this was going.

"Forbidden Jutsu: Summoning: One Tail Possession Jutsu!"

One of the shadow clones was then enveloped by chakra. It grew a single tail, and began to surround itself with sand.

"Forbidden Jutsu: Summoning: Two Tail Possession Jutsu!" Naruto continued, and another clone became cloaked in a mysterious chakra. Naruto kept going, infusing each clone with different, sinister chakra. Vallen had never imagined something so powerful. When Naruto finished, each clone was glowing with a massive amount of chakra. Also, the clones each resembled a giant beast.

"This is my ultimate jutsu," said Naruto. "Using this jutsu, I summon the powers of the nine tailed beasts and fuse them with my clones. I call it The Nine Paths of Naruto!"

"Very impressive," said Vallen, barely able to keep his composure. "However, I believe that you will find my jutsu much more impressive. "Forbidden Jutsu: Death Reversal Jutsu!"

A large dark portal opened before Vallen, and from the ground rose a large casket. Naruto recognized the writing. Naruto's eyes went wide with shock as the casket opened, revealing Sasuke Uchiha. He was dressed in the same black clothes he had been buried in. They were identical to his clothes during the chunin exam. Vallen stepped over, admiring his jutsu. He held out his palm toward Sasuke, and suddenly it began to glow red.

"Naruto Namikaze, may I introduce my new slave, Sasuke Uchiha!"

"No… It can't be possible… You didn't…."

"I did. Sasuke, open your eyes and show him your lovely Sharingan."

Sasuke did as he was told, and those red eyes activated. Those eyes filled Naruto's mind with long forgotten memories. This would be a fight for the history books.


	28. Chapter 27: Memories

**Chapter 27: Memories**

Sasuke stopped on the head of the statue of Madara Uchiha in the Valley of the End. He had led Naruto here, intending this to be the place of their final battle. He smirked as Naruto landed on the head of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage.

"Well, Naruto, here we are. The two of us, ready to fight, just as we did all those years ago, and just as our ancestors did," he gestured down at the statues. "Last time, the Senju clan prevailed, but this time, the Uchiha will taste victory."

"Interesting," replied Naruto. "I didn't know you were one to give speeches."

Sasuke chuckled. "Naruto, I will win here today. You do not stand a chance."

"Sasuke, come back to the Leaf. We can fix this. Stop before you do something unforgiveable."

"Unforgiveable? Tell me, Naruto, why should I seek the forgiveness of the Leaf Village? Why should I even care? They killed my family. They destroyed everything I had. They can all burn in the flames of my Amaterasu!"

"Sasuke, listen to yourself. This isn't you! What happened to the old you? What happened to my teammate, my comrade? What happened to my best friend?"

"He died. Long ago. Just as you will today, Naruto."

"Sasuke," sighed Naruto. "I don't want to kill you, but if you continue, I fear that I'll have no choice."

"You? Kill me? Let me explain something to you, Naruto. You will _never, ever_ kill me. You're nothing more than a pathetic child who sits in a chair ordering around his lackeys. You are nothing to me."

With that, Sasuke jumped forward, a Chidori charged and ready. Naruto powered up a Rasengan and jumped to meet Sasuke. The two jutsu collided, and both ninja were thrown into opposite sides of the canyon wall.

Thunder rumbled above, much like it did the last time they fought. Sasuke jumped out of his crater and threw a cluster of shuriken at Naruto, who had also emerged and was summoning a party of Shadow Clones. Two of the clones blocked the shuriken with their kunai, while the others surrounded Sasuke.

Sasuke counted the clones. There were a total of twelve surrounding him. The two who were hit by the kunai were beside the real Naruto, standing still. Sasuke realized that the twelve that now surrounded him were diversions, while the real Naruto and his two clones absorbed sage chakra. Sasuke had to get rid of these clones before Naruto absorbed enough sage chakra to gain the upperhand. He formed the serpent hand seal.

"Earth Style: Seismic Rock Slide Jutsu!"

Naruto, who was gathering sage chakra, nearly fell when the ground began to shake. The canyon walls began to crumble, smashing all of his clones, even the two he had held back. Naruto himself had almost been clobbered a couple of times, but he had moved out of the way. _Darn it, _he thought, _I didn't get enough sage chakra. Oh well._

Sasuke smiled. His plan had worked perfectly. _Now to kill Naruto._ He charged a Chidori and flew across the river toward Naruto. Naruto caught Sasuke's wrist in his left hand, stopping the attack, and, using the little bit of sage chakra he had, formed a green Rasengan in his right. Sasuke tried to get away, but was unable and felt the wind knocked out of him by the force of the attack. Because of Naruto's grip on his wrist, he didn't go spiraling away, either. He felt his wrist dislocate as the attack ran its course, but Naruto's grip was stalwart. When the attack was done, Naruto slammed his fist into Sasuke's gut and let go of his wrist. Sasuke stumbled, coughing blood.

Now it was Naruto's turn to smile. "Sasuke, I'm sorry. There was a time when you truly were my friend, but now…"

"Save it. The only thing I want to hear from you is your final breath leaving your dying lips!" Sasuke awakened his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and summoned Susanoo to shield him. The monstrous embodiment of chakra appeared, slamming its sword down into the ground where Naruto had been up until a mere second ago.

Realizing what was coming, Naruto had thrown one of his father's kunai into the canyon wall, and now was standing by it, waiting for the smoke to dissipate. Sasuke however, was not patient, and sent a blast of black fire Naruto's way. Naruto jumped and avoided the attack. The explosion, however, threw him farther up higher than he had intended, making him vulnerable.

Sasuke, noticing the fact that Naruto had been thrown so high, sent his Susanoo's sword to deliver a fatal blow, but Naruto summoned a Shadow Clone and used it to throw him out of the way. Susanoo's sword crashed into the clone, causing it to disappear in a puff of smoke. Sasuke turned to see that Naruto had formed a Rasenshuriken and was preparing to throw it at him. Sasuke chuckled. That jutsu couldn't break through his Susanoo. Naruto threw the jutsu, which Susanoo batted away easily.

"You're losing your touch, Naruto. That was weak." The Naruto he was speaking to, however, was suddenly gone.

"Over here, Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned to see Naruto, now covered in a golden light, charging toward him, a gigantic Rasengan formed in his left hand. Sasuke realized that Naruto must have used a Shadow Clone to attack before, the real one teleporting behind him. Naruto slammed the attack into Susanoo's back, shattering the armor that had protected Sasuke. Sasuke, not willing to lose to Naruto so easily, activated his Amaterasu.

!

The explosion was deafening. Naruto and Sasuke were thrown once again into the canyon walls. Naruto's impact formed a crater in Madara's feet, while Sasuke formed a crater in the First's feet. Smoke and debris flew around, leaving Naruto and Sasuke blind to each other's movements. Before this could clear, however, Naruto and Sasuke both looked up, hearing a loud cracking noise above. The large statues of Hashirama and Madara were beginning to crack all the way up, and large boulders were hurtling down all around. Sasuke's leg was broken as a boulder landed on it. Naruto felt his own hands and feet showered with rocks.

Water from the waterfall was now falling everywhere. The two statues that once stood to suppress it was now gone. Naruto and Sasuke were nowhere to be found. Finally, their hands emerged from the ground. They both crawled out, feeling the massive pain that now plagued their bodies. They glared at each other.

"It's over, Sasuke. Just come back to the village with me."

Sasuke said nothing. He charged up for his final attack. Naruto, ready for such a situation, had already entered sage mode and tapped his fox chakra.

"Sasukkkkkeeee!"

"Narutoooooooo!"

The Rasengan and Chidori clashed in brilliant burst of light and energy. When the smoke cleared, Naruto stood over the unconscious Sasuke. They had fought here in the Valley of the End, just like before, only now, Sasuke was the one at Naruto's feet. Naruto stared down at him with his Sage/fox eyes. He had never meant for it to come to this. Would Sasuke ever see the light?

"Sasuke, do you see now? Do you see the truth? The time has come. You will return to the Leaf."

"Naruto," Sasuke coughed. "You fool. You really think that the Leaf will welcome me back?"

"I'll make them," replied Naruto.

"Naruto, I will never return!"

With that, Sasuke leapt from the ground and pulled a kunai, stabbing at Naruto. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and threw him into the cliff. A single tear fell from his face. He had tried, but he had failed.

Naruto walked over to Sasuke, and realized that it really was over. Sasuke told Naruto one last thing before he passed.

"Naruto, I'm sorry…."


	29. Chapter 28: Naruto and Sasuke?

**Chapter 28: Naruto and…Sasuke!**

Sasuke began tearing through the Nine Paths of Naruto. He used his Sharingan to suppress their powers and began to dismiss the clones one by one. Naruto looked on in awe as the clones were each met and dealt with. Sasuke used a large Chidori Spear on the One-Tail Naruto. Then, he loosed a massive fireball at the Two-Tail Naruto. The Three-Tail Naruto unleashed its Three Tails Water Ball Jutsu, which Sasuke jumped up to dodge, then used Chidori to finish the clone. The Four-Tail Naruto spat lava at Sasuke, who jumped to the left, and pulled his sword on the clone. The clone, ready to respond to such an attack, jumped out of the way and fired a Tailed Beast Ball at Sasuke. Sasuke was struck by this jutsu and smashed into the ground with surprising force. Sasuke, to all of the remaining clones' surprise, just got up and dusted himself off. The clones, furious with the raven-haired man, all summoned chakra for their strongest attacks. The Four-Tails shot a massive ball of lava and chakra at Sasuke. The Five-Tails unleashed its own Tailed Beast Ball. The Six-Tails covered its Tailed Beast Ball in its corrosive acid and threw it at Sasuke. The Seven-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails combined their own powers together and fired a single Tailed Beast Ball at Sasuke, who coated himself with Susanoo's ribcage to protect himself. The attack shook the entire village, and even flattened a large area around Sasuke, but Sasuke was still standing. Naruto realized that this was due to the fact that Sasuke's Sharingan had suppressed the Tailed Beast Powers. The clones, having used up all of their chakra, dispersed. Sasuke smirked at Naruto.

Suddenly, Sasuke flew toward Naruto. Naruto barely had time to react as Sasuke slammed his fist into his gut. Naruto went flying back, but before he could catch himself, Sasuke was there, kicking into the air. Naruto felt yet another blow as Sasuke unleashed a new version of the Lion's Barrage. Naruto crashed into the ground, blood oozing from a wound on his head. He was sure his shoulder had been dislocated and his lower leg shattered. He sent fox chakra into the areas, but he suddenly felt himself being lifted from the ground by the same leg. Sasuke threw him into the air again, then formed hand signs and released a massive fire ball straight at Naruto. Naruto reacted by coating himself with chakra to protect himself. He couldn't fight Sasuke like this. If only he hadn't been caught off guard!

Meanwhile, Vallen grinned at the effectiveness of his plan. Naruto would die today, and yet another chakra would be his once more.

Sasuke slammed Naruto into the ground yet again. He grinned as Naruto rose again. He threw a punch toward Naruto, but Naruto caught it in his hand. Then, he punched Sasuke in the face. Sasuke, enraged, began using his lightning-fast taijutsu, even though Naruto still held his fist. As he hammered away at Naruto's defenses, Naruto eventually had no choice but to let go in order to protect himself. Sasuke and Naruto slammed punch after punch into each other's face and gut, neither willing to surrender. After a few moments, the two parted, obviously winded.

"Sasuke, I've wanted to see you again for so long, but I never thought that I would actually get the opportunity. And to think, we have to fight. What happened to those last words you spoke to me?"

"The Sasuke you know isn't here," said Vallen. "I had to seal away that side of him. This is just his body. A puppet, if you will. The jutsu, however, is permanent. You will have to kill him in order to stop him. Even if I die, he will still carry on my will to destroy you. It's perfect, really."

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration. Bringing Sasuke back was one thing, but completely removing the real Sasuke from the equation was another. Naruto shook with fury. First, Vallen had attacked his ally, the Sand Village. Then, he attacked Naruto and the Leaf. Then, he attacks the Stone Village. Now, he brings back Naruto's dearest friend and forces him to fight Naruto like some puppet. Naruto reached down deep and summoned his true power.

Suddenly, he teleported passed Sasuke and slammed an Odama Rasengan into Vallen's gut. Then, he created two Shadow Clones to catch Vallen and hold him. He created a third Shadow Clone that ran toward Sasuke while forming hand signs. Vallen surrounded himself with fire and destroyed the clones. Then, he set his sights on Naruto. Naruto, who was forming hand signs, was distracted by the clone he sent after Sasuke, but when the clones dispersed, he instantly knew about Vallen and sped up the hand signs. The clone sent toward Sasuke had finished its hand signs and teleported behind Sasuke, slamming him in the back with his hand, which had begun to glow green. The attack disoriented Sasuke, who hadn't had time to react, and he fell unconscious at the clone's feet. The clone then dispersed, letting Naruto know that its job was complete.

Naruto was now in a fist fight with Vallen. He had had to stop the hand signs he was forming because of Vallen's approach and now it appeared that he would never finish the jutsu. Vallen drilled Naruto will multiple punches and kicks that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Naruto, after being kicked in the face, jumped away and formed a few hand signs.

"Fire Style: Burning Ash!"

The plume of smoke, ash, and fire flew toward Vallen, who formed his own hand sign and inhaled the attack.

"That can't be healthy!" said Naruto. Vallen smiled as smoke rose from his hands and nostrils.

"Now, I believe I should end you, Naruto. You've been too much of a distraction, and now you must die." Vallen formed more hand signs, these looking vaguely familiar to Naruto, whose eyes went wide when Vallen had finished.

"No! Not that again!"

"Ultimate Jutsu: Nature's Wrath: Wind and Fire Combo!"

Once again, Naruto watched as giant twisters touched down all over the Stone Village, but these were different. Each one was composed of both fire and wind. The twisters swept across the village, destroying anything that they touched. Naruto turned back to Vallen, only to see a giant twister heading straight for him. It was moving faster than the others, and the winds were picking Naruto up before he could even react. Naruto was swept into the storm and felt the energy that drove it. Flames licked as his face and debris crashed into his body with sickening crunches. This was terrible.

Naruto forced himself to open his eyes, and only a few feet away was Sasuke's body, which had also been picked up by the storm. He reached out and grabbed Sasuke's hand, hoping against hope that his jutsu had worked. He pushed a small burst of his chakra into Sasuke's hand, and Sasuke's eyes suddenly jerked wide open. He was slightly disoriented, but that didn't last long as he quickly grasped the situation. He formed a single hand sign, and the twister began to weaken. Sweat began to appear on his brow as he tried to exert his own will over the twister. Naruto saw this and fed his own chakra into Sasuke's arm, giving him the strength he needed to silence the twister. He and Naruto landed on their feet, both glaring at Vallen.

Vallen was surprised at this turn of events. He never would have believed that his jutsu could be broken; either one, for that matter. He formed his hand signs, but noticed that his movements were being perfectly mimicked by Sasuke, who had activated his Sharingan.

"Fire Style," they both said in unison, "Raging Flame Infinite Burning Jutsu!"

Naruto watched, stunned, as both ninja fired a large blast of white fire at each other. The two massive fireballs fought for control, but eventually, Sasuke's prevailed, and it consumed Vallen. Vallen screamed in agony as the flames seared his body. As he screamed, he fixed his tortured, furious eyes on Naruto and Sasuke.

"You will pay!" he screamed. "You will all die for your insolence! I promise you!"

Naruto and Sasuke watched as Vallen's body burned away, leaving nothing but charred remains. The battle was finally over.


	30. Chapter 29: Cleaning Up

**Chapter 29: Cleaning Up**

Naruto, along with Tai, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai, led a small team of ANBU and builders back to the Leaf Village. Once Vallen had been defeated, the Sound ninja, having no Otokage, dispersed, heading back to their own village. Vallen had been right. His jutsu had literally reversed Sasuke's death. He was still alive, and even the most experienced ninja could find no seal or chakra signature besides Sasuke's own. He appeared to be staying alive. Sasuke had been detained by the Stone ninja for interrogation, though Naruto had left Shikamaru to help. Sasuke seemed to know little, if anything, about Vallen's plans. Also, the Alliance laws prevented anyone from dying twice from his crimes.

Naruto and Sakura took some time to survey the damage alone. He was heartbroken. The village had been utterly destroyed. The builders were searching for anything that they could salvage, but there didn't seem to be much. Naruto and Sakura stood at the top of the Hokage Mountain, the only thing that appeared to be left. Naruto felt a tear fall down his face as the builders pulled out a young girl from the rubble. She was around thirteen, and she wore regular clothes. Her light blonde hair was covered with dirt, and her clothes were tattered and torn. Around her head was the Leaf headband. Naruto remembered seeing this girl. She had graduated from the Academy only days before the attack.

Sakura leaned over and kissed his cheek. "It's not your fault, Naruto."

"I know, but why did she have to die. She was so young."

"I understand." Sakura returned to watching as the builders continued to dig. Naruto felt a sudden sense of depression overtake him as he watched the remnants of his village be excavated.

Suddenly, he heard a thump and a cry of pain next to him. He turned to look just as Sakura fell from the mountain. Naruto leapt into action. He jumped from the mountain, caught Sakura, and cradled her in his arms as he landed gracefully at the foot of the mountain. Several ANBU converged on him, anxious to protect their leader, but none could find the source of the attack. Naruto was the first to spot Vallen, who was walking down what was once a major Leaf Village Street. His eyes shown of fury, and he smiled an evil grin. The ANBU moved to attack, but Naruto stopped them.

"No. He's mine. You take care of Sakura."

The ANBU knew better. Getting in Naruto's way now would be like a small robin trying to stop a lion from eating meat.

Naruto disappeared, but Vallen was ready. The second that Naruto appeared behind Vallen, he was elbowed in the gut. Vallen turned, grabbed Naruto's hand, and threw him away into a nearby pile of rubble. Then, Vallen formed a hand sign and used the Fire Dragon Jutsu. The dragon flew toward the pile of rubble and Naruto. Naruto summoned his sage chakra and countered with a Water Dragon, courtesy of his training with Kakashi. The two dragons met and fizzled out. Then their owners met with such force that their respective kunai broke. The separated and threw the broken weapons away. Then, each drew a new kunai and repeated the process. These kunai were stronger, however, and held up to immense strain of the battle. Naruto and Vallen continued to break apart and collide, each time with more force. Each collision shook the ground. Tai and the others watched in amazement as the ANBU worked to heal Sakura, who was now unconscious.

"Incredible," Tai said to Kakashi and Sai. "Naruto-sensei is furious."

Sai and Kakashi only nodded as the two ninja continued to go for the kill. Naruto jumped away and prepared a Rasengan. Vallen responded by forming a few hand signs and inhaling deeply. Naruto recognized that he was about to use a Wind Style jutsu and mentally readied an air shield. Vallen shot a massive blast of air straight at Naruto, whose air shield took the attack. Naruto kept his Rasengan formed and charged it with a combination of water and wind chakra. The Rasengan took on a cold nature and turned snow white. Naruto slammed the attack into Vallen's chest. Ice immediately began to form all over Vallen, spreading from his chest outward. Soon, his entire body was covered in ice. Naruto leapt back and admired his handiwork. His admiration was short-lived, however, as the ice began to crack and Vallen emerged, appearing unscathed from the attack.

"What?" cried Naruto. "How?"

"I can't be beaten so easily. Seriously, between the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha, your attacks are like child's play." Vallen formed another hand sign and shot a fireball at Naruto, who wasn't fast enough to get out of the way. The attack hit Naruto in the chest, propelling him back into the Hokage mountain.

"Should we get involved?" asked one of the ANBU who had left Sakura, since she was now stable, though still unconscious.

"No," replied Tai. "I honestly think that we'd just get in the way if we did."

Meanwhile, Naruto had gotten up and was forming hand signs. "Ninja Art: Hokage Style: Shadow Clone Mode!" Though nothing appeared to happen, the jutsu's effect was evident when Naruto threw a single punch in Vallen's direction. Another hand appeared, extending from his own, then another, and another, and another. This continued until the fists reached Vallen. Vallen knocked the fist aside, then formed a single hand sign. His left hand became engulfed in flames. He charged toward Naruto, who jumped into the air and sent a barrage of fists raining down upon Vallen at super speed. As each new fist appeared, a new set was already extending from that one. Instead of a straight line like before, Naruto's fists now doubled in number each time a new set appeared. By the time the attack reached Vallen, there were about two hundred fists. Vallen was unable to dodge and was crushed by the attack.

"How do you like that?" asked Naruto.

Vallen slowly got back to his feet. "Still not enough."

"Then take this!" said Naruto, a new Rasengan forming in his hand. This one was different from his common Rasengan in that it was slightly larger and was orange.

"I'll hit you with my newest jutsu! Orange Flash Rasengan!"

Fire and lightning began to encircle the orange Rasengan, increasing its size. Vallen could feel the energy surging off the attack. He knew that if Naruto hit him with that, it would all be over. As Naruto got closer, he tried to dodge, only to find Naruto waiting for him. Naruto slammed the attack into his face, causing the Rasengan to explode. Smoke and debris flew everywhere, and when it cleared, Naruto stood on a thin pillar of ground in the middle of wide, deep crater. There was no sign of Vallen. Naruto entered Sage Mode, but even Vallen's chakra was gone. He increased his field of sense, but there was nothing. This time, Vallen was truly gone.


	31. Epilogue

**Here it is, the final Chapter. This is the epilogue. As of right now, I am considering a sequel, but I'm not sure. This mostly depends on another story of mine. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 30: Epilogue<strong>

_6 months later…_

Naruto looked out his new office window. Just over the wall, at the newly finished Ninja Academy, a few children were playing.

"I'm gonna be the next Hokage!" said a young red-haired boy enthusiastically. He reminded Naruto of a younger version of himself.

"Right. When pigs fly!" said another young boy, this one with brown hair.

"Chazz, be nice to Kento!" said a young girl with long silver hair. She was Kakashi's daughter, just now a genin.

Naruto laughed.

"Enjoying yourself, Naruto?"

Naruto turned to see Sasuke walking in. He had his new White-Ops uniform, the common white cloak had been adapted for him, creating a type of cape for Sasuke.

"Kids are something else."

"You just now realizing that? Sounds like you're a little late to me…with Sakura being pregnant and all."

Naruto blushed. Sakura was five months along now. Soon, Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's four year old son, would have a new friend to play with. Naruto was quick to recover, however. "Did you finish making your rounds?"

Sasuke smiled. He knew Naruto was in a hurry to change the subject. "Yes. I did. You know, when you had me promoted to Captain of the White Ops, I didn't realize I would have to inspect the entire village."

"You'll get used to it. I did."

"I still can't believe that this village lasted so long after I was gone."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Did I just see the Seventh Hokage stick his tongue out at the Captain of the White Ops?"

"Uhhh… No…" replied Naruto as Tsunade stepped inside. Sasuke grinned.

"How were the defenses?"

"Everything appears to be in order."

"Alright. Well, you're dismissed."

Sasuke bowed and left the room. On his way, he passed Sakura.

"Oh, hey, Sasuke!"

"Sakura," Sasuke nodded. "Where have you been?"

"I went to see Ino and Lee."

"Oh? How are they doing?"

"Pretty well, actually. Ino's pregnant, too."

"Why am I not surprised?" sighed Sasuke.

"Shikamaru and Kayla are getting married this weekend. Are you going to the wedding?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Well, see you there."

"Bye."

Sasuke walked out into the village. He thought it was interesting. Everything had changed. Kakashi and Ayame were married. So many more were about to be. He walked to the preschool where Itachi was waiting. He picked the boy up in a tight home.

"It's so good to be home."

_Fin…_

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><p><strong>Well, that's all folks. Sniff Sniff. Hope you enjoyed it. Please R&amp;R, and be sure to let me know how you feel about a sequel. Thanks for reading! Once more, See ya!<strong>


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